Scalable greenhouse gas capture systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Scalable greenhouse gas capture systems and methods to allow a user to off-load exhaust captured in an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device and to allow for a delivery vehicle or other transportation mechanism to obtain and transport the exhaust. The systems and methods may involve one or more exhaust pumps, each with an exhaust nozzle corresponding to a vehicle exhaust port. Upon engagement with the vehicle exhaust port, the exhaust nozzle may create an air-tight seal between the exhaust nozzle and the vehicle exhaust port. A first pipe may be configured to transport captured exhaust therethrough from the exhaust nozzle to. The captured exhaust may be at least temporarily stored in an exhaust holding tank connected to and in fluid communication with the first pipe.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.17/652,530, filed Feb. 25, 2022, titled “SCALABLE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURESYSTEMS AND METHODS,” which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/200,581, filed Mar. 16, 2021, titled“SCALABLE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURE SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” and U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/267,567, filed Feb. 4, 2022, titled“SCALABLE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURE SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of this disclosure relate to scalable greenhouse gas capturesystems and methods, and more particularly, to systems and methods thatallow users or motorists to capture combustion products, i.e., exhaust,on-board a vehicle, off-load such captured combustion products atvarious collection locations, including, e.g., convenience stores, truckstops, and/or other fueling locations that have exhaust or fluid pumpsor receivers configured for such operations, store the off-loadedcombustion products at least temporarily, and then transport, viadelivery vehicle, pipeline, or other device, the off-loaded combustionproducts for recycling, use, and/or permanent storage, e.g.,sequestration.

BACKGROUND

Certain gases, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogendioxide, sulfur dioxide, benzene, formaldehyde, polycyclic hydrocarbons,other particulate matter, etc., when released to the atmosphere arepurported to adversely contribute to climate change and have beenlabeled as greenhouse gases. To mitigate perceived climate change ormeet private, public, country, state, or global commitments/policies,much worldwide attention and focus has been placed on reducing therelease of these greenhouse gases to atmosphere, e.g., as shown via TheParis Agreement. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are directlyreleased to atmosphere through the combustion of fossil fuels, forexample, in a vehicle or other vehicles that utilize fossil fuels.Further, atmospheric carbon dioxide may absorb heat that could otherwisebe directed to space. The residence time of atmospheric carbon dioxidepaired with accumulation may be cause for global focus.

Currently, the majority of motorist vehicles sold and in use areinternal combustion engine motorist vehicles. Further, internalcombustion engine motorist vehicles are affordable and widely available.Further still, the majority of fueling infrastructure within the UnitedStates, as well as globally, is constructed to support or provide fuelto internal combustion engine motorist vehicles. While other motoristvehicle options exist, such as fuel cell or electric based motoristvehicles, such options are costly and currently lack range and theextensive infrastructure typically associated with internal combustionengine motorist vehicles.

To offset greenhouse gas emissions produced by motorist vehicles orother vehicles, a user may purchase an alternative fuel vehicle (e.g.,fuel cell or battery electric vehicles). However, manufacturing suchvehicles produces some level of greenhouse gases and, as noted, may notbe affordable or widely available. Further, both manufacturing ofelectric vehicles and components, as well as the production of theelectricity to charge electric vehicles may produce some level ofgreenhouse gases. Additionally, the raw materials (e.g., lithium,nickel, manganese, cobalt, etc.) for such electric and other alternativepowered vehicles or devices may create economic in-balances due tosource geology and supply/demand fundamentals. In addition,infrastructure to fuel or charge such vehicles is not extensive orwidely available and will require significant capital deployment. As analternative, the motorist or user may purchase credits to offset anygreenhouse gas emissions produced by operating the internal combustionmotor vehicle. Such credits may be used to plant trees that capture anequivalent amount or portion of greenhouse gases from the air or othercertified sources. However, such greenhouse gas offsetting programs arelimited and may not fully mitigate the full scope of greenhouse gasemissions and the land-use impact is largely unknown. One viablealternative for directly reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to capturecarbon dioxide produced by and found in the combustion products emittedfrom an internal combustion engine vehicle, while the vehicle is inmotion. Many innovations exist relating to carbon capture, particularlyaround on-board vehicle carbon capture. While such innovations areavailable, no solution is known to exist for the efficient off-loadingof the captured carbon dioxide, whether in liquid or gas form.

Accordingly, Applicant has recognized a need for a scalable greenhousegas capture system and method to provide an internal combustion enginevehicle or other logistic vehicle types, e.g. rail, inland or oceanvessels, and aircraft, with an easy to use and incentive based exhaustoff-loading solution. Applicant has also recognized that such systemsand methods may be located at existing service stations, conveniencestores, or other locations, providing scalable and pervasive solutions.The present disclosure is directed to embodiments of such systems andmethods.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods toallow a motorist or user to off-load combustion products, namelyexhaust, that are captured on-board the internal combustion enginevehicle or motorist vehicle during its operation. The off-loaded,stored, and/or captured exhaust may be in various forms, such formsincluding a solid, gas, vapor, compressed gas, or liquid. The systemsmay be located in and methods may be utilized at various and multiplelocations, allowing for wide adoption, ease of installation, and/or wideaccessibility, e.g. scale. For example, the systems and methods may belocated or performed at a convenience store during a typical refueling,at a service station while services are performed or issues relating tothe vehicle are resolved, and/or at varying other locations that allowfor wide-spread access. The systems and methods may include a combinedfuel and exhaust pump or dispenser/receiver, a separate fuel dispenserand exhaust pump or receiver, or a fuel pump/dispenser island or row offuel pumps/dispensers including a corresponding one or more exhaustpumps/receivers. The exhaust pumps/receivers may also be separate fromfuel pumps/dispensers or not co-located with fuel pumps/dispensers. Anexhaust pump/receiver, whether co-located with a fuel pump/dispenser ornot, may include an exhaust nozzle. The exhaust nozzle may correspond toa vehicle exhaust port. The vehicle exhaust port may allow for transportor off-loading of captured exhaust from an on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device and storage. Such an on-board vehicle exhaust capturedevice may capture or collect exhaust. The on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device may further be configured to capture carbon dioxidedirectly from the air. The exhaust nozzle, as noted, may correspond toand be sealingly engageable with the vehicle exhaust port, thus creatingan air-tight seal between the exhaust nozzle and the vehicle exhaustport. Such an air-tight seal may be designed to prevent leakage ofexhaust or carbon dioxide and provide a safe transfer of exhaust orcarbon from the vehicle to the exhaust pump. The exhaust nozzle mayconnect to a pipe, such as a flexible hose able to withstand highpressure and/or low temperatures. The pipe may connect to a compressoror pump. The compressor or pump may compress and/or pump the fluid ormolecules from the vehicle. The compressor or pump, if present, or thepipe may connect to an exhaust holding tank. The exhaust holding maystore the exhaust until retrieved by a delivery vehicle. A meter may bedisposed at some point between the exhaust nozzle, the compressor, thepump, or the exhaust holding tank. The meter may clamp on or beintegrated in or on the pipe. The meter may measure an amount of exhaustflowing from the vehicle to the exhaust holding tank.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a scalablegreenhouse gas capture system. The system may allow a motorist or userto off-load exhaust captured in an on-board vehicle exhaust capturedevice. The system may allow for a delivery vehicle to obtain andtransport the exhaust. The system may include one or more exhaust pumps.The one or more exhaust pumps may include an exhaust nozzle. The exhaustnozzle may correspond to and be sealingly engageable with a vehicleexhaust port. The exhaust nozzle may, upon engagement with the vehicleexhaust port, be configurable to create an air-tight seal between theexhaust nozzle and the vehicle exhaust port to prevent exhaust fromleaking during off-load of captured exhaust from an on-board vehicleexhaust capture device through the vehicle exhaust port and into theexhaust nozzle. The system may include a first pipe. The first pipe mayhave one end portion connected to the exhaust nozzle and another endportion. The first pipe may be configured to transport captured exhausttherethrough from the exhaust nozzle to the another end portion. Thesystem may include an exhaust holding tank. The exhaust holding tank maybe connected to and in fluid communication with the another end portion.The exhaust holding tank may have a capacity to store the capturedexhaust. The system may include a meter. The meter may be disposed at aposition in a gas or fluid pathway, the fluid pathway defined at leastin part by the first pipe and the exhaust holding tank, that allowsexhaust to flow between the exhaust nozzle and exhaust holding tank. Themeter may be configured to measure an amount of the exhaust transportedfrom the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device to the exhaust holdingtank. The system may include a first delivery vehicle port. The firstdelivery vehicle port may be connected to the exhaust holding tank toprovide fluid communication therebetween and to allow the deliveryvehicle to obtain compressed or liquid exhaust from the exhaust holdingtank.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a scalablegreenhouse gas capture system. The system may allow off-loading ofexhaust captured in an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device. Thesystem may allow for a delivery vehicle to obtain and transport theexhaust. The system may include one or more fuel dispensers. Each of theone or more fuel dispensers may include a user interface. The userinterface may allow a user to select a fuel type for pumping to avehicle thereby defining a selected=fuel type. The user interface mayallow a user to select off-loading of captured exhaust, the capturedexhaust obtained via an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device of thevehicle. The user interface may allow a user to transact payment for theselected fuel type. Each of the one or more fuel dispensers may includea fuel nozzle. The fuel nozzle may correspond to and be insertable intoa vehicle fuel port. Each of the one or more fuel dispensers may includea first pipe. The first pipe may have one end portion connected to thefuel nozzle and another end portion connected to below grade fuel tanksto provide fluid communication therebetween. The first pipe may beconfigured to transport the selected fuel type to the vehicle, via thefuel nozzle, upon payment and selection of the selected fuel type. Eachof the one or more fuel dispensers may include a first meter. The firstmeter may be disposed at a position between the fuel nozzle and thebelow grade fuel tanks. The first meter may measure an amount of fueltransported from one of the below grade fuel tanks to the vehicle. Eachof the one or more fuel dispensers may include an exhaust nozzle. Theexhaust nozzle may correspond to and be sealingly engageable with avehicle exhaust port. The exhaust nozzle, upon engagement with thevehicle exhaust port, may be configurable to create an air-tight sealbetween the exhaust nozzle and the vehicle exhaust port to preventexhaust from leaking during off-load of captured exhaust from theon-board vehicle exhaust capture device through the vehicle exhaust portand into the exhaust nozzle. Each of the one or more fuel dispensers mayinclude a second pipe. The second pipe may have one end portionconnected to the exhaust nozzle and another end portion. The second pipemay be configured to transport captured exhaust therethrough from theexhaust nozzle to the another end portion. The system may include acompressor or pump. The compressor or pump may be connected to and influid communication with the another end portion of the second pipe. Thecompressor or pump may be operable to increase pressure of the capturedexhaust from the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device to transferexhaust from the vehicle to the exhaust holding tank. The system mayinclude an exhaust holding tank connected to and in fluid communicationwith the compressor or pump. The exhaust holding tank may have acapacity to store the captured exhaust from the compressor or pump. Thesystem may include a second meter. The second meter may be disposed at aposition in a fluid pathway, the fluid pathway defined at least in partby the second pipe and the compressor, that allows exhaust to flowbetween the exhaust nozzle and exhaust holding tank. The second metermay be configured to measure an amount of the exhaust transported fromthe on-board vehicle exhaust capture device to the exhaust holding tank.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a method to off-loadexhaust from an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device of a vehicle andto obtain, via a delivery vehicle, the exhaust. The method may include,in response to a reception of a selected fuel type from the userinterface, transmitting a prompt to select whether to off-load vehicleexhaust captured in an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device of avehicle. The method may include transmitting a prompt to engage a fueland exhaust nozzle of the fuel and exhaust pump into a correspondingfuel and exhaust port of the vehicle. The method may include determiningif the fuel and exhaust nozzle is inserted into the corresponding fueland exhaust port of the vehicle. The method may include, in response toa determination that the fuel and exhaust nozzle is inserted into thecorresponding fuel and exhaust port of the vehicle, determining if thefuel and exhaust nozzle is sealingly engaged with fuel and exhaust portof the vehicle. The method may include, in response to a determinationthat the fuel and exhaust nozzle is sealingly engaged with the fuel andexhaust port of the vehicle, pumping, via the fuel and exhaust nozzle,the selected fuel from a below grade fuel tank in fluid communicationwith the fuel and exhaust nozzle to a vehicle fuel tank. The method mayfurther include, in response to a determination that vehicle exhaustoff-loading was selected, pumping, via the fuel and exhaust nozzle, thevehicle exhaust from the vehicle on-board vehicle exhaust capture deviceto an exhaust holding tank. The method may include transmitting aphysical or electronic receipt for an amount of fuel dispensed and anamount of vehicle exhaust pumped.

The method may also include, prior to pumping vehicle exhaust,determining an amount of current storage space of the exhaust holdingtank based on a total amount of space of the exhaust holding tank and acurrent amount of vehicle exhaust stored in the exhaust holding tank.The method may include determining an amount of vehicle exhaust in theon-board vehicle exhaust capture device. The method may includedetermining whether the exhaust holding tank is able to store the fullamount, or a portion, of vehicle exhaust in the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device. The method may include, in response to a determinationthat the exhaust holding tank is unable to store the amount of vehicleexhaust in the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device, preventing thepumping of vehicle exhaust into the exhaust holding tank.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a scalable carboncapture system to allow for off-load of captured carbon dioxide from anon-board vehicle carbon capture device and to allow for a deliveryvehicle to obtain and transport the carbon. The system may include oneor more carbon armatures. Each of the one or more carbon armatures mayinclude a carbon nozzle. The carbon nozzle may correspond to and besealingly engageable with a vehicle carbon port. The carbon nozzle, uponengagement with the vehicle carbon port, may be configurable to createan air-tight seal between the carbon nozzle and the vehicle carbon portto prevent carbon from leaking during off-load of captured carbondioxide from an on-board vehicle carbon capture device through thevehicle carbon port and into the carbon nozzle. The carbon armatures mayinclude a first pipe. The first pipe may have one end portion connectedto the carbon nozzle and another end portion. The first pipe may beconfigured to transport captured carbon dioxide therethrough from thecarbon nozzle to the another end portion. The system may include acompressor or pump connected to and in fluid communication with theanother end portion of the first pipe. The compressor or pump may beoperable to increase pressure of the captured carbon dioxide from theon-board vehicle carbon capture device to transfer exhaust from thevehicle to the exhaust holding tank, thereby defining captured carbondioxide. The system may include a carbon holding tank connected to andin fluid communication with the compressor or pump. The carbon holdingtank may have a capacity to store the captured carbon dioxide from thecompressor or pump. The system may include a meter disposed at aposition in a fluid pathway (i.e., gas or liquid pathway) defined atleast in part by the first pipe and the compressor or pump that allowscarbon to flow between the carbon nozzle and carbon holding tank. Themeter may be configured to measure an amount of the carbon transportedfrom the on-board vehicle carbon capture device to the carbon holdingtank. The system may include a first delivery vehicle port connected tothe carbon holding tank to provide fluid communication therebetween andto allow the delivery vehicle to obtain carbon dioxide from the carbonholding tank. In another embodiment, the vehicle may be one of alocomotive, airplane, bus, truck, marine vessel, or heavy vehicle.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a scalablegreenhouse gas capture system. The system may allow a motorist or userto off-load exhaust captured in an on-board vehicle exhaust capturedevice. The system may allow for a delivery vehicle, or other mobile orfixed assembly or mechanism configured to obtain and transport theexhaust. The system may include one or more motor fuel dispensers. Eachof the one or more motor fuel dispensers may include a user interface.The user interface may allow a motorist or other user to select a motorfuel type for pumping to a vehicle or other equipment thereby defining aselected motor fuel type. The user interface may allow the motorist orother user to select off-loading of captured exhaust, the capturedexhaust obtained via an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device. Theuser interface may allow a motorist or other user to transact paymentfor the selected motor fuel type. Each of the one or more motor fueldispensers may include a nozzle. The nozzle may include a first innercavity corresponding to and insertable into a vehicle inner fuel port.The nozzle may include a first outer annular cavity surrounding thefirst inner cavity and corresponding to and sealingly engageable with avehicle outer annular exhaust port. The nozzle may be configurable tocreate an air-tight seal (e.g., a closed system) between the first outerannular cavity of the nozzle and the vehicle outer annular exhaust portto prevent exhaust from leaking during off-load of captured exhaust fromthe on-board vehicle exhaust capture device through the vehicle fuel andexhaust port and into the nozzle. Each of the one or more motor fueldispensers may include a pipe. The pipe may include a second innercavity configured to transport the selected motor fuel type, via thefirst inner cavity of the nozzle, upon payment and selection of theselected motor fuel type. The pipe may include a second outer annularcavity surrounding the second inner cavity and configured to transportthe captured exhaust, via the first outer annular cavity of the nozzle,upon payment and selection of the off-loading of captured exhaust. Thepipe may include a first end portion of the second inner cavityconnected to the first inner cavity of the nozzle. The pipe may includea second end portion of the second inner cavity connected to below orabove grade fuel tanks to provide fluid communication therebetween. Thepipe may include a first end portion of the second outer annular cavityconnected to the first outer annular cavity of the nozzle. The pipe mayinclude a second end portion of the second outer annular cavity. Each ofthe one or more motor fuel dispensers may include a first meter disposedat a position between the first inner cavity of the nozzle and the belowor above grade fuel tanks to measure an amount of fuel transported fromone of the below or above grade fuel tanks to the vehicle. The systemmay include a compressor or pump connected to and in fluid communicationwith the second end portion of the second inner cavity. The compressoror pump may be operable to increase pressure of the captured exhaustfrom the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device or may be configured toutilize staged pressure (e.g., as a form of suction) to transfer exhaustfrom the vehicle to the exhaust holding tank, thereby definingcompressed captured exhaust. The system may include an exhaust holdingtank connected to and in fluid communication with the compressor orpump. The exhaust holding tank may have a capacity to store thecompressed captured exhaust from the compressor pump. The system mayinclude a second meter disposed at a position in a fluid pathway definedat least in part by the second outer annular cavity of the pipe and thecompressor or pump that allows exhaust to flow between the first outerannular cavity of the nozzle and exhaust holding tank or otherintermediate tanks or equipment (e.g., a dryer, knock-out drum, etc.) tomeasure an amount of the exhaust transported from the on-board vehicleexhaust capture device to the exhaust holding tank.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a scalablegreenhouse gas capture system. The system may allow a motorist or userto off-load exhaust captured in an on-board vehicle exhaust capturedevice. The system may allow for a delivery vehicle, or other downstreammechanisms or devices configured to obtain and transport the off-loadedexhaust. The system may include one or more sets of one or more motorfuel dispensers. Each of the one or more motor fuel dispensers mayprovide fuel to a vehicle. The system may include at least one exhaustpump included at each of the one or more sets of one or more fueldispenser. The at least one exhaust pump may include a user interface.The user interface may allow a motorist or user to select off-loading ofcaptured exhaust, the captured exhaust obtained via an on-board vehicleexhaust capture device. The user interface may allow a motorist or userto transact payment or receive credits for the selected off-loading ofcaptured exhaust. The at least one exhaust pump may include an exhaustnozzle. The exhaust nozzle may correspond to and be sealingly engageablewith a vehicle exhaust port. The exhaust nozzle, upon engagement withthe vehicle exhaust port, may be configurable to create an air-tightseal between the exhaust nozzle and the vehicle exhaust port to preventexhaust from leaking during off-load of captured exhaust from theon-board vehicle exhaust capture device through the vehicle exhaust portand into the exhaust nozzle. The at least one exhaust pump may include afirst pipe. The first pipe may have one end portion connected to theexhaust nozzle and another end portion. The first pipe may be configuredto transport captured exhaust therethrough from the exhaust nozzle tothe another end portion. The system may include a compressor or pumpconnected to and in fluid communication with the another end portion ofthe first pipe. The compressor or pump may be operable to increasepressure of the captured exhaust from the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device to transfer exhaust from the vehicle to the exhaustholding tank, thereby defining compressed captured exhaust. The systemmay include an exhaust holding tank connected to and in fluidcommunication with the compressor or pump. The exhaust holding tank mayhave a capacity to store the compressed captured exhaust from thecompressor. The system may include a meter disposed at a position in afluid pathway defined at least in part by the first pipe and thecompressor or pump that allows exhaust to flow between the exhaustnozzle and exhaust holding tank. The meter may be configured to measurean amount of the exhaust transported from the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device to the exhaust holding tank. The system may include afirst delivery vehicle port connected to below grade fuel tanks to allowthe delivery vehicle. The below grade fuel tanks may store motor fuelfrom a delivery vehicle. The system may include a second deliveryvehicle port connected to the exhaust holding tank to provide fluidcommunication therebetween and to allow the delivery vehicle to obtaincompressed exhaust from the exhaust holding tank.

Another embodiment of the disclosure is directed to a scalable exhaustcapture system to allow for off-load of captured fluid stored in anon-board exhaust capture device and to allow for a transportationmechanism to obtain and transport the fluid. The system may include oneor more fluid receivers. Each of the one or more fluid receivers mayinclude a nozzle. The nozzle may correspond to and sealingly engage witha port of the on-board exhaust capture device. The nozzle, uponengagement with the port, may be configured to create an air-tight sealbetween the nozzle and the port to prevent fluid from leaking duringoff-load of captured fluid from the on-board exhaust capture devicethrough the port and into the nozzle. Each of the fluid receivers mayinclude a first pipe having one end portion connected to the nozzle andanother end portion. The first pipe may be configured to transportcaptured fluid therethrough from the nozzle to the another end portion.The system may include an exhaust holding tank connected to and in fluidcommunication with the another end portion of the first pipe. Theexhaust holding tank may have a capacity to store the captured fluidfrom the nozzle. The system may include a meter disposed at a positionin a fluid pathway defined at least in part by the first pipe thatallows fluid to flow between the nozzle and exhaust holding tank. Themeter may be configured to measure an amount of the fluid transportedfrom the on-board exhaust capture device to the exhaust holding tank.The system may include a transportation port connected to the exhaustholding tank to provide fluid communication therebetween and to allow atransportation mechanism or mode configured to off-load the exhaust toobtain fluid from the exhaust holding tank. In another embodiment, thesystem may include a pump. The pump may be disposed at a position in afluid pathway defined at least in part by the first pipe and the meter.The pump may be operable to transport the fluid at an increased pressureor flow rate to the exhaust holding tank connected to and in fluidcommunication with the another end portion of the first pipe.

In an aspect, a scalable greenhouse gas capture system that can be usedfor substantially simultaneous fueling and exhaust offload operations isprovided. The scalable greenhouse gas capture system can incorporate amulti-function nozzle assembly that can be configured to enable fuelingand offload of exhaust along a common fuel and exhaust conduit andthrough a combined inlet/outlet port of a vehicle. In embodiments, foruse with such a system, the vehicle will include a fuel tank and anon-board exhaust capture device that are accessible via the combinedinlet/outlet port of the vehicle; and the scalable greenhouse gascapture system can comprise an exhaust capture system configured tooff-load exhaust captured on-board a vehicle by a vehicle exhaustcapture device, the exhaust capture system comprising at least oneexhaust holding tank having a capacity to store the captured exhaust andconnected to and in fluid communication with at least one pump fordrawing an outflow of captured exhaust from the vehicle exhaust capturedevice; a fuel supply system for supplying a flow fuel to the vehicle inconjunction with the off-load of exhaust therefrom; and one or moremotor fuel dispensers, each including a controller having a userinterface configured to enable: (a) selection of a motor fuel type forpumping to a vehicle thereby defining a selected motor fuel type, (b)selection of off-loading of captured exhaust, the captured exhaustobtained via an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device, and (c)transaction of payment for the selected motor fuel type. The scalablegreenhouse gas capture system further will include a multi-functionnozzle assembly coupled to a fuel hose and exhaust hose for receivingthe flow of fuel from the fuel supply and directing the outflow ofoff-load exhaust from the vehicle to the exhaust capture system.

The multi-function nozzle assembly comprising an exhaust nozzle definingan exhaust passage, and adapted to couple with an exhaust port of thevehicle, wherein a seal is formed between the exhaust nozzle and thevehicle exhaust port sufficient to prevent captured exhaust from leakingfrom the exhaust passage during off-load of the captured exhaust fromthe vehicle; and a fuel nozzle located within the exhaust passage of theexhaust nozzle, the fuel nozzle defining a fuel passage contained withinand extending along the exhaust passage and through which a flow fuel issupplied a fuel tank of the vehicle, the fuel nozzle adapted tocooperatively engage with a fuel inlet port of the vehicle, so as tocreate a substantially airtight seal between the fuel nozzle and thefuel inlet port sufficient to substantially prevent leakage of exhaustfrom the outflow of off-load exhaust into the flow of fuel into thevehicle fuel tank. The fuel nozzle generally will be moveable along theexhaust passage of the exhaust nozzle when the exhaust nozzle is engagedwith the exhaust port of the vehicle, so that a forward end of the fuelnozzle is received within the fuel inlet port; and the multi-functionnozzle assembly will be configured to supply the flow of fuel throughthe fuel passage of the fuel nozzle and into the fuel tank of thevehicle, while exhaust is off-loaded from the vehicle exhaust capturedevice through the exhaust passage surrounding the fuel passage.

In embodiments of the scalable greenhouse capture system, the fuelnozzle further comprises one or more sealing features located adjacentthe forward end of the fuel nozzle and adapted to cooperate with the oneor more sealing materials of the fuel inlet port engaging the one ormore sealing features of the fuel nozzle so as to form a sealtherebetween sufficient to substantially prevent captured exhaustflowing along the exhaust passage from entering the fuel inlet port.

In some embodiments of the scalable greenhouse capture system, the fuelnozzle further comprises at least one sensor configured to monitor aflow pressure of the flow of fuel passing through the fuel nozzle andprovide a signal to a fuel pump associated with the multi-functionnozzle assembly indicating a volume of fuel in a fuel tank of thevehicle is reaching a selected capacity.

In some embodiments of the scalable greenhouse capture system, theexhaust capture system further comprises a compressor connected to andin fluid communication with the exhaust nozzle of the multi-functionnozzle assembly, the compressor operable to increase pressure of thecaptured exhaust from the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device; anexhaust holding tank connected to and in fluid communication with thecompressor, the exhaust holding tank having a capacity to store a volumeof compressed captured exhaust from the compressor; and at least onemeter disposed at a position in a fluid pathway defined at least in partby the exhaust hose and the compressor to enable exhaust to flow betweenthe exhaust nozzle and exhaust holding tank, the meter configured tomeasure an amount of the exhaust transported from the vehicle exhaustcapture device to the exhaust holding tank.

In embodiments, the scalable greenhouse capture system further comprisesone or more sensors positioned along the exhaust passage, at least onesensor of the one or more sensors configured to detect a pressure of aflow of exhaust from the exhaust capture device of the vehicle, whereinshut-off of the outflow of exhaust from the exhaust capture device ofthe vehicle is enabled upon detection of the pressure of the outflow ofexhaust decreasing to or below a selected back-pressure threshold. Insome embodiments, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least onesensor configured to measure an amount of exhaust transferred from theexhaust capture device of the vehicle.

In embodiments of the scalable greenhouse capture system, the exhaustnozzle further comprises a body having an outer wall with at least onelocking channel located therealong, the at least one locking channelconfigured to receive a locking projection of the exhaust port of thevehicle therein to lock the exhaust nozzle in sealing engagement withthe exhaust port.

In embodiments of the scalable greenhouse capture system, themulti-function nozzle assembly further includes at least one locatingfeature positioned at a forward end of the body of the exhaust nozzleand configured to cooperate with a corresponding locating feature of theexhaust port of the vehicle so as to facilitate alignment of the lockingprojections of the exhaust port with the locking channels of the exhaustnozzle. In some embodiments, the at least one locating feature of theexhaust nozzle and the corresponding locating features of the exhaustport comprise magnets; each including a sealing covering materialapplied thereover and configured to create an enhanced seal between theexhaust nozzle and the exhaust port due to a magnetic attractiontherebetween.

In some embodiments of the scalable greenhouse capture system, themulti-function nozzle assembly further comprises a fuel intake lineextending along the exhaust passage and coupled to the fuel nozzle by aconnector, the connector comprising a flexible connector configured toextend and retract with movement of the fuel nozzle along the exhaustpassage of the exhaust nozzle.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a multi-functionnozzle assembly for use with a scalable greenhouse gas capture systemfor supplying fuel to a fuel tank of a vehicle and for off-load ofexhaust captured in an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device isprovided. In embodiments, the multi-function nozzle assembly comprisesan exhaust nozzle defining an exhaust passage, the exhaust nozzleadapted to engage with an exhaust port of the vehicle and a seal betweenthe dual function nozzle and the vehicle exhaust port sufficient tosubstantially prevent the exhaust from leaking from the exhaust passageduring off-load of the exhaust from the vehicle; a fuel nozzle and afuel intake line located within and surrounded by the exhaust passage ofthe exhaust nozzle, the fuel nozzle and fuel intake line defining a fuelpassage contained within the exhaust passage; wherein the fuel nozzle iscoupled to the fuel intake line by a flexible connector, and includesone or more sealing features located at a forward end thereof, the oneor more corresponding sealing features adapted to cooperatively engageone or more sealing materials of a fuel inlet port of the vehicle;wherein the fuel nozzle is moveable along the exhaust passage of theexhaust nozzle to move a forward end of the exhaust nozzle into anopening of the fuel inlet port so that the one or more sealing materialsof the fuel inlet port are brought into engagement with the one or moresealing features of the fuel nozzle to form a seal therebetweensufficient to substantially prevent exhaust from the exhaust passageentering the fuel inlet port; and at least one sensor configured tomonitor a flow pressure of the flow of fuel passing through the fuelnozzle and provide a signal to a fuel pump associated with themulti-function nozzle assembly indicating a volume of fuel in the fueltank of the vehicle is reaching a selected capacity; wherein themulti-function nozzle assembly is a coupled to a fuel and an exhaustconduit adapted to receive a flow of the fuel from a fuel supply in afirst direction and outflow of exhaust from the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device in a second direction.

In embodiments, the flow of fuel to the fuel tank of the vehicle issupplied substantially simultaneously with the outflow of exhaust fromthe vehicle using the multi-function nozzle assembly.

In some embodiments, the fuel and exhaust conduit of the multi-functionnozzle assembly comprises a combined fuel hose and an exhaust hose, theexhaust hose defining an outer annular passage in which the fuel hose iscontained wherein the fuel hose and the exhaust hose are both connectedto the multi-function nozzle assembly at a common connection point.

In addition, in embodiments, the multi-function nozzle assembly furthercomprising a handle having a trigger, and a linkage connected to thetrigger and to the fuel nozzle, wherein movement of the trigger causes acorresponding movement at the fuel nozzle along the exhaust passage ofthe exhaust nozzle.

Still other aspects and advantages of these embodiments and otherembodiments, are discussed in detail herein. Moreover, it is to beunderstood that both the foregoing information and the followingdetailed description provide merely illustrative examples of variousaspects and embodiments, and are intended to provide an overview orframework for understanding the nature and character of the claimedaspects and embodiments. Accordingly, these and other objects, alongwith advantages and features of the present disclosure herein disclosed,will become apparent through reference to the following description andthe accompanying drawings. Furthermore, it is to be understood that thefeatures of the various embodiments described herein are not mutuallyexclusive and may exist in various combinations and permutations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the disclosure willbecome better understood with regard to the following descriptions,claims, and accompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that thedrawings illustrate only several embodiments of the disclosure and,therefore, are not to be considered limiting of the scope of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating one or more embodiments to captureexhaust or greenhouse gas at an exhaust pump or receiver and totransport the exhaust or greenhouse gas for further re-use orsequestration, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a chart illustrating the amount of carbon dioxide emitteddirectly and/or indirectly from different vehicles.

FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, and FIG. 2E are schematic diagramsthat illustrate scalable greenhouse gas capture systems andconfigurations of vehicle fuel inlet and exhaust outlet ports forsupplying fuel to a vehicle and for off-loading captured exhaust from avehicle to an exhaust holding tank and to a delivery vehicle or othertransportation mode for re-use, recycle, or permanent storage, accordingto one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are simplified diagrams that illustrate a novelimplementation of a fuel and exhaust pump for transporting fuel to avehicle and off-loading exhaust from the vehicle in which the fuel andexhaust pump include two separate nozzles for fuel and for exhaust,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, and FIG. 4D are simplified diagrams thatillustrate a novel implementation of a fuel and exhaust pump fortransporting fuel to a vehicle and off-loading exhaust from the vehiclein which the fuel and exhaust pump include two separate nozzles for fueland for exhaust, and a touchscreen user interface for motorist or userinteraction, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C, FIG. 5D, FIG. 5E, FIG. 5F, FIG. 5G, FIG. 5H,and FIG. 5I are simplified diagrams that illustrate a novelimplementation of a fuel and exhaust pump for transporting fuel to avehicle and off-loading exhaust from the vehicle, in which the fuel andexhaust pump includes a single nozzle for fuel and exhaust that has anannular cavity for fuel or exhaust and an inner cavity for exhaust orfuel, respectively, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a simplified diagram that illustrates a novel implementationof a fuel and exhaust station that offers off-load of captured exhaustfrom a vehicle and pick-up or transport to a delivery vehicle, accordingto one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are simplified diagrams that illustrate the singlenozzle for fuel and exhaust, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 8A, FIG. 8B, and FIG. 8C are simplified diagrams that illustrates anovel implementation of a fuel and exhaust station that offers off-loadof captured exhaust from a vehicle and pick-up or transport to adelivery vehicle, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B, and FIG. 9C are simplified diagrams that illustrates anovel implementation of a fuel and exhaust station that offers off-loadof captured exhaust from a vehicle and pick-up or transport to adelivery vehicle, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram that illustrates a novel implementationof a fuel and exhaust station that offers separate areas for off-load ofcaptured exhaust from a vehicle and fueling of a vehicle, as well aspick-up or transport to a delivery vehicle, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a simplified diagram that illustrates a novel implementationof an exhaust off-loading station that includes collection anddeterminations relating to captured exhaust, off-loaded exhaust, andtransported exhaust, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram for off-loading exhaust and fueling a vehiclesequentially, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram for off-loading exhaust and fueling a vehiclein parallel, or substantially at the same time, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 is another flow diagram for off-loading exhaust and fueling avehicle sequentially, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram for off-loading and processing liquid exhaust,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 16A and FIG. 16B are schematic diagrams that illustrate scalablegreenhouse gas capture systems for off-loading captured greenhouse gasfrom a marine vessel that may include an exhaust or carbon capturedevice, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram that illustrates scalable greenhouse gascapture systems for off-loading captured greenhouse gas from alocomotive and/or rail car to a greenhouse gas holding tank andtransporting the greenhouse gas from the greenhouse gas holding tank,via a transportation mechanism, for re-use, recycle, or permanentstorage, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram that illustrates scalable greenhouse gascapture systems for off-loading captured greenhouse gas from an airplaneto a greenhouse gas holding tank and transporting the greenhouse gasfrom the greenhouse gas holding tank, via a transportation mechanism,for re-use, recycle, or permanent storage, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram for off-loading exhaust and fueling a vehicle,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 20A, FIG. 20B, FIG. 20C, and FIG. 20D are charts illustrating therelationship between pressure, temperature, and vapor fraction accordingto an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

So that the manner in which the features and advantages of theembodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein, as well asothers that will become apparent, may be understood in more detail, amore particular description of embodiments of systems and methodsbriefly summarized above may be had by reference to the followingdetailed description of embodiments thereof, in which one or more arefurther illustrated in the appended drawings, which form a part of thisspecification. It is to be noted, however, that the drawings illustrateonly various embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein andare therefore not to be considered limiting of the scope of the systemsand methods disclosed herein as it may include other effectiveembodiments as well.

When facing a decision on how to move goods, products, and/or people aconsumer, and/or organization may evaluate such a decision based on avehicle's total cost of ownership, reliability, total greenhouse gasemissions, and/or other factors. When attempting to offset or prioritizegreenhouse gas emissions, the user and/or organization may purchase orutilize an alternative fuel vehicle (e.g., fuel cell or battery electricvehicles). Further, while such an alternative fuel vehicle may beconsidered a low or no greenhouse gas emission vehicle, manufacturing ofalternative fuel vehicles, particularly electric vehicles, andcomponents, as well as the production of the electricity to chargeelectric vehicles, may produce some level of greenhouse gases, asillustrated in FIG. 1B chart 26. For example, full deployment (e.g.,exiting manufacturing) of an electric vehicle may produce approximatelyor about 50 percent or more carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissionsthan a comparable internal combustion engine vehicle, and unless theinfrastructure to provide electricity to charge such an electric vehicleis materially revamped such that operation is based on 100 percentrenewable power sources, the electricity to power/charge an electricalvehicle may likely include some amount of CO2e emissions. The systemsand methods described herein provides a scalable and meaningfulgreenhouse gas capture and reduction platform. The effectiveness of sucha greenhouse gas capture and reduction platform may be determinedutilizing a ‘cradle to grave analysis’, which takes into account thefull life-cycle of a vehicle and therefore the total CO2e of differenttypes of vehicles. Chart 26 utilizes publicly available information andconsiders a vehicle life-cycle of about 150,000 miles. The y-axismeasurement of chart 26 represents kilograms of CO2e and the x-axiscompares an internal combustion engine vehicle fueled with diesel,gasoline, or renewable diesel to an electric vehicle with varyingbattery-mile ranges, e.g., about 60, about 70, about 85, about 100, andabout 200 kilowatt-hours. By utilizing the systems and methods describedherein, the internal combustion engine vehicle may include a largeand/or meaningful impact on total emissions associated withtransportation as shown in chart 26. As a function of captureefficiency, an internal combustion vehicle may outperform an electricvehicle in relation to life-cycle CO2e emissions.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods to allow amotorist or other users to off-load combustion products, e.g., exhaustor different components or chemicals in exhaust, and/or other capturedgreenhouse gases directly from the air, both of which may be capturedand stored on-board the motorist vehicle or other vehicle. In anotherembodiment, the combustion products and/or the captured greenhouse gasesmay primarily include carbon dioxide. Further, the combustion productsand/or the captured greenhouse gases may include portions of nitrogenand/or water, among other chemicals. The stored, captured, and/or oroff-loaded exhaust may be in various forms when off-loaded, including agas, compressed fluid/gas, solid, or liquid. The systems may be locatedin or the methods performed at various and multiple locations, allowingfor wide adoption and scale, ease of installation, and/or wideaccessibility. For example, the systems and methods may be located orperformed at a convenience store, a truck stop, terminal during atypical refueling, at a service station while services are performed orissues relating to the vehicle are resolved, at a common node for masstransit vehicles (e.g., a destination hub), and/or at varying otherlocations related to or not related to vehicle use that allows forwide-spread access. The systems and methods may include a combined fueland exhaust pump or dispenser/receiver, separate fuel and exhaust pumpsor dispensers/receivers, or a fuel pump/dispenser/receiver island, i.e.,a row of fuel pumps or dispensers including a corresponding one or moreexhaust pumps or receivers. The exhaust pumps/receivers may also beseparate from fuel pumps/dispenser or not co-located with fuelpumps/dispensers. An exhaust pump/receiver, whether co-located with afuel pump/dispenser or not, may include an exhaust nozzle. The exhaustnozzle may correspond to a vehicle exhaust port. The vehicle exhaustport may allow for transport or off-loading of captured exhaust from anon-board vehicle exhaust capture device. Such an on-board vehicleexhaust capture device may capture or collect exhaust. The on-boardvehicle exhaust capture device may further be configured to capturecarbon dioxide directly from the air. The exhaust nozzle, as noted, maycorrespond to and/or align with and be sealingly engageable with thevehicle exhaust port, thus creating an air-tight seal between theexhaust nozzle and the vehicle exhaust port. Such an air-tight seal mayprevent leakage of exhaust or carbon dioxide and provide a safe transferof exhaust or carbon dioxide from the vehicle to the exhaust pump;considered as a closed system. The exhaust nozzle may connect to a pipe,such as a flexible hose able to withstand high pressure and/or lowtemperatures.

In an embodiment, the exhaust may be off-loaded as a gas. In suchembodiments, the pipe may connect to a compressor. The compressor maycompress the fluid from the vehicle. The compressor may be a multi-stagecompressor. The multi-stage compressor may include one or morecompressors connected via intercoolers. Each of the compressors maycompress gas or fluid to different pressures. For example, a firstcompressor may be a low pressure compressor and a second compressor maybe a high pressure compressor. The compressor, if present, or the pipemay connect to an exhaust holding tank. The exhaust holding tank maystore the exhaust until retrieved or transported, e.g., such as by adelivery vehicle, pipe or pipeline, rail, or marine vessel. A meter maybe disposed at some point between the exhaust nozzle and the compressoror pump or exhaust holding tank. The meter may clamp on or may beintegrated in or on the pipe and measure an amount of exhaust flowingfrom the vehicle to the exhaust holding tank.

In another embodiment, the exhaust may be off-loaded as a liquid. Theliquid may include carbon dioxide and/or portions of nitrogen and/orwater, among other chemicals. In such embodiments where water may beincluded in the exhaust, the pipe may connect to dryer. The dryer mayremove water from the liquid. The dryer may use a desiccant to removeany water in the liquid. The liquid may then travel to a knock-out drumto separate any gas or vapor that may form in or may be included alongwith the liquid. The remaining liquid may then be pumped to a storagetank. Any gas or vapor may be transported from the knock-out drum to anintermediate storage tank. The gas or vapor may flow to a refrigerationunit. The refrigeration unit may condense the gas or vapor to form aliquid, which may be pumped to the storage tank. The storage tank maystore the liquid at a specified or selected temperature and/or pressureuntil subsequent transportation to market.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating one or more embodiments to captureexhaust or greenhouse gas at an exhaust pump or receiver and transportthe exhaust or greenhouse gas for further re-use or sequestration,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. A deliveryvehicle, truck, pipeline, rail, marine vessel, or other means oftransportation 10 may deliver fuel to a market, end user, or point ofsale 12, e.g., a convenience store, truck stop or terminal, a railwaystation, a bus or semi-truck depot, an airport, a dock or marine vesselrefueling site, or other location where a vehicle may be re-fueled. Avehicle or motorist vehicle may re-fuel at such sites. Further, suchsites may include exhaust or greenhouse gas off-loading and storagecapabilities (see 14). The exhaust or greenhouse gas off-loading andstorage capabilities may also be disposed, deployed, positioned, orinstalled in locations other than where vehicles or motorist vehiclesmay be fueled. The exhaust or greenhouse gas may be withdrawn from theholding tanks at the convenience store or other locations noted above(see 16). Another delivery vehicle, truck, pipeline, rail, marinevessel, or other means of transportation 18 may transport the exhaust orgreenhouse gas from the holding tank. The exhaust or greenhouse gas maybe aggregated within downstream tanks 20. Once an amount of the exhaustor greenhouse gas and a use for the exhaust or greenhouse gas isdetermined, the exhaust or greenhouse gas may be injected into along-haul pipeline or transported via rail, marine vessel, or other masshauling method (see 22). In another embodiment, the exhaust orgreenhouse gas may be injected into a long-haul pipeline or transportedvia rail, marine vessel, or other mass hauling method (see 22) directlyfrom the holding tanks, rather than being aggregated in tanks 20. Theexhaust or greenhouse gas may be used as a feedstock, in exploration andproduction of hydrocarbons, e.g., enhanced oil recovery, for permanentsequestration (see 24), and/or for utilization in other processes ormarkets. The illustration of FIG. 1A may represent a closed loop of afuels lifecycle, e.g., such as the path or life of a fuel from wellheadto combustion and/or carbon capture.

FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, and FIG. 2D are schematic diagrams thatillustrate scalable greenhouse gas capture systems for off-loadingcaptured exhaust from a motorist vehicle or other vehicle to an exhaustholding tank and transporting the exhaust from the exhaust holding tankvia a delivery vehicle or transportation mechanism or device for re-use,recycle, or permanent storage, according to one or more embodiments ofthe disclosure. A scalable greenhouse gas capture system 100 may includesets, rows, or islands of motor fuel and exhaust dispensers/receivers orfuel and exhaust pumps 106. The term motor fuel and exhaustdispenser/receiver may be used interchangeably with the term fuel andexhaust pumps 106. The fuel and exhaust pumps 106 may include variouscomponents to allow a motorist vehicle 101 or to off-load combustionproducts, e.g., exhaust, and/or other greenhouse gases from the air thatare captured and stored in an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device104, as well as to allow the motorist vehicle 101 or other vehicle tore-fuel.

In addition to motorist vehicle 101 utilizing the scalable greenhousegas capture system 100, a variety of different types of vehicles, motordriven devices, or other mechanisms may utilize the scalable greenhousegas capture system 100. A vehicle may include a car, a truck, a heavyvehicle (e.g., delivery vehicle 132, semi-truck, or eighteen wheeler), abus, heavy equipment, an internal combustion engine/electric hybrid,battery powered electric vehicle, and/or other vehicle types. Further,the fuel and exhaust pump 106 or a separate exhaust pump may be locatedin a variety of locations, such as at a convenience store, bus or truckterminal, truck stop, seaport, river port, service station or store,motorist vehicle dealership, parking lot or garage, airport, and/or anyother location where a motorist vehicle 101 or other vehicle may travel.While description herein includes off-loading exhaust from a motoristvehicle 101, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatexhaust may be off-loaded from the other types of vehicles, describedherein, or other equipment, e.g., such as airplanes, boats/ships/marinevessels, or any other vehicle that may produce exhaust or greenhousegases, equipment, heavy equipment, or any other mobile, moveable,non-static or dynamic exhaust or greenhouse gas capture device.

The motorist vehicle 101 may include, as noted, an on-board vehicleexhaust capture device 104, an on-board carbon capture device, or anon-board greenhouse gas capture device. As will be understood, on-boardvehicle exhaust capture device 104 may be used interchangeably withon-board carbon capture device and/or on-board greenhouse gas capturedevice. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may be one of avariety of devices to capture exhaust or other components of exhaustfrom an internal combustion engine of a motorist vehicle or othervehicle. One such device may capture the total or varying portions ofexhaust produced by the internal combustion engine. In such embodiments,the cost of the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may beoff-set by the lack of expense for a catalytic converter, which maypotentially no longer be required. In another embodiment, the on-boardvehicle exhaust capture device 104 may be designed or configured tocapture carbon dioxide or filter carbon dioxide from exhaust and thencapture the filtered carbon dioxide. Such configurations mayadditionally capture some portion of nitrogen and/or water, among otherchemicals (e.g., SO_(x), NO_(x), etc.). The on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device 104 may be disposed downstream of the catalytic converterof the motorist vehicle 101. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device104 may capture the exhaust or a portion of the exhaust produced afterexhaust produced by an internal combustion engine passes through thecatalytic converter. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 maybe configured to capture carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, all orportions of exhaust of an internal combustion engine vehicle, methane,carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, benzene,formaldehyde, polycyclic hydrocarbons, other particulate matter, othertrace chemicals, and/or some combination thereof. The on-board vehicleexhaust capture device 104 may inadvertently capture trace amounts ofother chemicals and/or water. The on-board vehicle exhaust capturedevice 104 may include a compressor to compress the exhaust or carbondioxide, to ensure that a large quantity of carbon dioxide may be storedon the motorist vehicle 101. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device104 may include components to convert captured carbon dioxide, which mayor may not include other chemicals (e.g., nitrogen), to a liquid. Insuch embodiments, a cooling or refrigeration unit may be includedon-board the motorist vehicle 101 and/or on-site at the scalablegreenhouse gas capture system 100 to ensure that the liquefied carbondioxide may be stored at the proper temperature, as will be understoodby those skilled in the art.

The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may include a filtermedia or catalyst to capture carbon dioxide within a solid, e.g.,through adsorption or absorption. The filter or catalyst may be arrangedin a fixed bed. Thus, the catalyst may be included as a fixed catalyst.As exhaust flows through the fixed catalyst or filter media, carbondioxide may be adsorbed within pores of the catalyst or filter media orotherwise attach to or bond to the catalyst/filter media. To remove thecarbon dioxide, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 mayinclude a heating element to heat the catalyst or medium storing thecarbon dioxide to release the carbon dioxide, e.g., the carbon dioxideto be released as a gas. Thus, heat may be efficiently used through anexisting on-board process and recycled to the unit instead of “wasted”.In another embodiment, the fixed catalyst may be included in a removablemodule. To remove carbon dioxide stored in the fixed catalyst, a usermay remove the removable module and place or insert the module in acorresponding receptacle at the fuel and exhaust pump 106. Uponreception of the removable module, the fuel and exhaust pump 106 mayoffer a new removable module for insertion into the motorist vehicle orother vehicle. In one or more embodiments, the filter or catalyst may beincluded in a fluid. The fluid may capture or absorb the carbon dioxideas carbon dioxide passes through the fluid. To remove the carbondioxide, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may include aheating element to heat the fluid storing the carbon dioxide to releasethe carbon dioxide, e.g., the carbon dioxide to be released as a gas. Inanother example, the carbon dioxide may be removed from the fluid viacomponents or devices at the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 100.For example, if the carbon dioxide/greenhouse gases are captured in afluid or fluid carried catalyst, a motorist or user may off-load thefluid/catalyst at the fuel and exhaust pump 106. The fluid/catalyst maybe transported to a tank or intermediate holding tank. Thefluid/catalyst may be heated in the tank to extract the carbon dioxidefrom the fluid/catalyst. The carbon dioxide may then be transferred toan exhaust holding tank 122. Further, the fuel and exhaust pump 106 maybe configured to provide either new fluid/catalyst or recycledfluid/catalyst, e.g., fluid/catalyst that has had carbon dioxideremoved. In yet another example, the scalable greenhouse gas capturesystem 100 may capture carbon dioxide from a similar motorist vehicle orother vehicle that includes a liquid arranged and designed to capturegreenhouse gases/carbon dioxide. In such examples, the motorist vehicleor vehicle may include a regenerative loop. As an absorbent liquid flowsthrough a cool part or portion of a loop, the liquid may absorb carbondioxide/greenhouse gases. The liquid may then flow to a hot part orportion of the loop. As the liquid heats up, the liquid may release theabsorbed carbon dioxide/greenhouse gases. The released carbondioxide/greenhouse gases may flow to a compressor and/or be storedon-board the vehicle.

The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may capture anywhere upto 100% of the exhaust of a motorist vehicle 101. In one or moreembodiments, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may captureat least 10%, at least 20%, at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 40%, atleast 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, atleast 90% or more of the carbon dioxide in the exhaust that results fromon-board vehicle combustion. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device104 may include a bypass device to allow for exhaust to be released tothe atmosphere when the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 isat capacity. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may includea range limiter to prevent the motorist vehicle 101 from traveling pasta specified distance when the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device104 is at capacity. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 maystore an amount of exhaust or carbon dioxide, e.g., such as about 100pounds or less, about 500 pounds, about 1,000 pounds, about 5,000pounds, or more. In any of the embodiments described herein, thescalable greenhouse gas capture system 100 may be configured to off-loadany form of captured exhaust, e.g., compressed gas or liquid, adsorbedinto solids adsorbents, etc. In other embodiments, the scalablegreenhouse gas capture system 100 may include a plurality of pumps,compressors, nozzles, and/or other options to accommodate varying and/ordifferent types of on-board vehicle exhaust capture devices.

As noted, the off-loaded exhaust may be in various forms, such as a gas,liquid, or solid. The off-loaded exhaust may include or may comprisecarbon dioxide. In addition to the carbon dioxide, the off-loadedexhaust may include amounts of oxygen, nitrogen, and/or water. Theliquid may comprise different combinations of carbon dioxide and otherchemicals, including, but not limited to, mixtures comprising about 96mol % carbon dioxide and about 4 mol % nitrogen; about 93 mol % carbondioxide, about 4 mol % nitrogen, and about 3 mol % water; or about 95mol % carbon dioxide, about 4 mol % nitrogen, and about 1 mol % water.Further, as environmental conditions (e.g., ambient temperatures) vary,the mixture composition may vary (e.g., as temperatures increase theliquid may include more water in relation to carbon dioxide, while theamount of water may be reduced in cooler temperatures). In anembodiment, the exhaust may include a portion or amount of water. Insuch examples, prior to further storage or processing at the scalablegreenhouse capture system 100, the water may be removed. If water isleft in exhaust (e.g., liquid carbon dioxide), the water may freeze andcause a blockage or may cause other issues, such as corrosion to thepipe and equipment. To remove the water, the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device 104 or the fuel and exhaust pumps 106 may include adryer. The dryer may include a desiccant or be otherwise configured toremove the water, thus ensuring proper and continued operation of thescalable greenhouse capture system 100.

While a vehicle 101, such as a car, truck, boat or other motorist drivenvehicle may include an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 tocapture exhaust produced by an internal combustion engine, the on-boardvehicle exhaust capture device 104 may also be configured to capturespecific chemicals or greenhouse gases directly from the air, i.e., theatmospheric air exterior to the motorist vehicle 101 or vehicle. In suchembodiments, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 may beincluded in or on a variety of vehicles, e.g., such as an electricvehicle, a fuel-cell based vehicle, a natural gas based vehicle, ahydrogen powered vehicle any other alternative fuel based vehicle, heavyvehicles, trucks, eighteen wheelers, marine vessels, airplanes oraircraft, and/or some combination thereof. During operation of thevehicle 101, air may flow into or through the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device 104. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 104 maycapture greenhouse gases, e.g., carbon dioxide, from the air flow. Forconvenience, such greenhouse gases captured in this way may be referredto as exhaust gases. In another embodiment, the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device 104 may solely capture other chemicals or greenhousegases from the air. As used herein, “fuel” may include a variety ofdifferent materials or energy utilized to power a vehicle, or equipment,e.g., gasoline, diesel, ethanol, combinations of different renewable andnon-renewable fuels, electricity, hydrogen, Liquefied petroleum gas,natural gas, and/or some combination thereof.

When a vehicle 101 parks or stops adjacent to the fuel and exhaust pump106, a motorist or user of the vehicle 101 may exit the vehicle 101 andinteract with the user interface 102 of the fuel and exhaust pump 106 orfuel and exhaust dispenser/receiver. The user interface 102 may includevarious options, actions, and/or information. The user interface 102 mayprompt the motorist or user to pay for fuel, prompt the motorist or userto pay or receive payment or reward to off-load exhaust, prompt themotorist or user to insert a fuel nozzle 110 into the motorist vehicle's101 corresponding fuel port 128, prompt the motorist or user to insertan exhaust nozzle 108 into the motorist vehicle's 101 correspondingexhaust port 130, provide analysis and statistics regarding off-loadedexhaust, provide an off-loaded exhaust history of the motorist, othermotorists, and/or users, provide incentives based on off-loaded exhaustof the vehicle 101, and/or offer receipt after fuel or energy has beenprovided and/or exhaust off-loaded. The user interface 102 may includeoptions to transact payment, via either credit card, debit card, mobilepayment applications, cryptocurrency, and/or other forms of suitablepayment. In another embodiment, a keypad and magnetic strip scannerand/or chip reader, or other form of payment recognition, such ascontactless payment, may be included on the fuel and exhaust pump 106 totransact payment.

After the motorist or user initiates payment and selects fuel and/orexhaust off-load options, as noted, the motorist or user may be promptedto insert the fuel nozzle 110 into the vehicle's 101 corresponding fuelport 128 and/or insert an exhaust nozzle 108 into the vehicle's 101corresponding exhaust port 130, based on whether the motorist or userselects to fuel the vehicle 101 and/or off-load exhaust from themotorist vehicle 101. The fuel nozzle 110 and/or the exhaust nozzle 108may include sensors or pins to determine or provide data to a computingdevice to determine whether each respective nozzle has been insertedinto the corresponding port on the vehicle 101. In another embodiment,the user interface 102 may issue a prompt to the motorist or user toindicate when the fuel nozzle 110 and/or exhaust nozzle 108 is insertedinto the corresponding port on the vehicle 101. In another embodiment,the exhaust nozzle 108 may include additional safety features to ensurethat the exhaust or carbon dioxide, whether compressed, not compressed,or in a liquid form, does not leak during an off-load operation. Suchfeatures may allow the exhaust nozzle 108 to sealingly engage with theexhaust port 130 of the vehicle 101. For example, the exhaust nozzle 108may include a male portion surrounded by a gasket, o-ring, or anothersurround to create a seal between the exhaust nozzle 108 and exhaustport 130 of the vehicle 101, the exhaust port 130 including a femaleportion corresponding to the male portion of the exhaust nozzle 108. Theseal, as noted, may prevent leakage of exhaust or carbon dioxide, thuspreventing potential injury or harm to a motorist or user and/or loss ofexhaust or carbon dioxide to atmosphere.

In another embodiment, the exhaust nozzle 108 may include threads,teeth, ramps, linkages, or magnets. The threads may correspond tothreads disposed or located on the inside of the exhaust port. As amotorist or user inserts the exhaust nozzle 108 into the exhaust port130, a portion of the exhaust nozzle 108 may be retained within theexhaust port 130 and may align the threads of the exhaust nozzle 108with the inner threads of the exhaust port 130. The user may then twistanother portion or movable portion of the exhaust nozzle 108 to tightenthe exhaust nozzle 108 in the exhaust port 130 to create a seal and/orlock. Other features may be included on the exhaust nozzle 108, such aslocking or latching components. The locks or latches may correspond tofeatures included in the exhaust port 130 of the vehicle 101. As theexhaust nozzle 108 is inserted into the exhaust port 130, the locking orlatching features of the exhaust nozzle 108 may lock or latch into oronto the corresponding features of the exhaust port 130, thus preventinga motorist or user from removing the exhaust nozzle 108 during exhaustoff-load. In such embodiments the exhaust nozzle 108 may include afeature to unlock or unlatch the exhaust nozzle 108 from the exhaustport 130. Such a feature may be actuated via control signals from thefuel and exhaust pump 106, via the user interface 102, and/or via abutton, switch, or handle on the exhaust nozzle 108. In anotherembodiment, the exhaust nozzle 108 may be a quick release nozzle. In yetanother embodiment, the exhaust nozzle 108 may include notches or teethcorresponding to protrusions in the exhaust port 130. As a motorist oruser inserts the exhaust nozzle 108 into the exhaust port 130, thenotches may align with the protrusions. Further, channels along theexhaust nozzle may allow for the motorist or user to perform a semi orquarter turn to lock and/or seal the exhaust nozzle 108 in place.

After a motorist or user has inserted the fuel nozzle 110 into thevehicle's 101 corresponding fuel port 128 and/or the exhaust nozzle 108into the vehicle's 101 corresponding exhaust port 130, the fuel andexhaust pump 106 may begin pumping/dispensing fuel to the vehicle 101and/or pumping/receiving exhaust from the vehicle 101. The fueling andexhaust off-load operation may take place in a sequential order. Forexample, the fuel may be pumped to the vehicle 101 first, followed bypumping the exhaust from the motorist vehicle 101. In anotherembodiment, the exhaust may be removed first, while the fuel is pumpedafterwards. In yet another embodiment, such operations, e.g., exhaustremoval and/or fuel dispensing, may occur simultaneously, substantiallysimultaneously, may overlap for a period of time, or one operation mayoccur while the other does not (e.g., re-fueling with no exhaust offloador exhaust offloading with no re-fueling).

During exhaust off-loading and/or re-fueling or re-charging, the userinterface 102 may include or display various characteristics orstatistics related to exhaust off-load and/or fuel dispensing. Forexample, the user interface 102 may display the amount of exhaust orcarbon dioxide that a user has off-loaded. The user interface 102 maydisplay the amount of exhaust or carbon dioxide that has been off-loadedin a city, in a state, in a country, and/or worldwide. The userinterface 102 may display the impact of such off-load operations, e.g.,that a certain amount of off-loaded exhaust or carbon dioxide isequivalent to planting a certain number of trees, removing a number ofconventional internal combustion engine vehicles from the road, and/orreducing the carbon intensity of particular fuels utilized, or, throughseparate use of machine learning and/or artificial intelligence, offerlifetime carbon emissions/savings compared to certain acceptedbaselines. The user interface 102 may display a rolling total of exhaustoff-loaded in the current operation and, if a cost is associated withexhaust off-loading, the cost. The user interface 102 may also displayadvertisements and/or other messages. The user interface 102 may alsodisplay a motorist's or user's reward points in relation to exhaust orcarbon dioxide off-load. In such examples, as a motorist or useroff-loads exhaust, the motorist or user may receive incentives, payment,or rewards (for the amount of off-loaded exhaust) from the conveniencestore, the entity owning or operating the fuel and exhaust pump 106, orthe entity owning or operating an exhaust pump. Such incentives orrewards may include discounts on fuel or discounts on goods or servicessold at the store associated with the fuel and exhaust pump 106.Further, such incentives may be offered by third parties for particularamounts of off-loaded exhaust. Stated another way, a motorist or usermay be given an option to off-load a particular amount of exhaust for anincentive from a third party. For example, a motorist or user may beoffered a number of points or miles, by an airline, for correspondingamounts of off-loaded exhaust. Such amounts may be accounted for withina single off-loading session or cumulatively over multiple off-loadingsessions through a deployed program.

The fuel and exhaust pump 106 may include pipes, e.g., fuel pipe 114 andexhaust pipe 112, connected to and in fluid communication with the fuelnozzle 110 and exhaust nozzle 108, respectively. The fuel pipe 114 mayconnect to and be in fluid communication with a fuel tank 120 or one ormore fuel tanks. The fuel pipe 114 may be a flexible hose or otherflexible pipe. Fuel of the scalable greenhouse gas system 100 may bestored in a fuel tank 120, below- or above-grade fuel tanks, or fuelholding tanks. Fuel tank 120 may include, hold, or store varying typesand combinations of gasoline, diesel, ethanol, and/or other bio orrenewable fuels, or hydrogen or ammonia. The scalable greenhouse gascapture system 100 may include one or more different fuel tanks, eachstoring the same or different fuel types. Fuel may flow from the fueltank 120 through, for example, pipe 118 to the fuel and exhaust pump 106and, thus, through fuel pipe 114 to the fuel nozzle 110 to the motoristvehicle 101. The exhaust pipe 112 may connect to and be in fluidcommunication with an underground exhaust holding tank 122, anabove-ground horizontally oriented exhaust tank 134, and/or anabove-ground vertically oriented exhaust tank 136. The exhaust pipe 112may be a flexible hose, a flexible pipe, or any type of pipe able towithstand, potentially, high pressure and/or low temperatures. Theexhaust holding tank 122 may include or have a capacity to store anamount of captured exhaust. The exhaust holding tank 122 may beconfigured to or have a capacity to hold exhaust from a number ofvehicles e.g., such as, 50 vehicles, 100 vehicles, 200 vehicles, 500vehicles, or more. The exhaust holding tank 122 may be configured tohold an amount of exhaust equivalent to a number of motorist vehiclesoff-loading exhaust each day for about several days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1month, or more. In such examples, the exhaust holding tank's 122 sizemay be determined based on how frequently a delivery vehicle may pick upthe exhaust from the exhaust holding tank. The exhaust holding tank 122may be configured to hold the exhaust at high pressure and/or lowtemperatures or, if the exhaust is off-loaded as a liquid, hold theexhaust at about 300 psig to about 350 psig at low temperatures. Asexhaust or carbon dioxide is pumped/transported from the motoristvehicle 101, the exhaust may flow through the exhaust nozzle 108 to theexhaust pipe 112 to pipe 116 and finally to the exhaust holding tank122. In an embodiment, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 100may include one or more fuel tanks and one or more exhaust holdingtanks. In such embodiments, the one or more exhaust tanks may belocated, disposed, or situated above-grade and/or below-grade.

In an embodiment, the fuel tank 120 may include a delivery vehicle port124 or ports. The delivery vehicle port 124 or ports may allow fordelivery vehicle connection. Such a connection may allow for thedelivery vehicle 132 to transfer fuel to the fuel tank 120 from thedelivery vehicle 132, e.g., to re-fill the fuel tank 120. In anotherembodiment, the exhaust holding tank 122 may include a delivery vehicleport 124 or ports. The delivery vehicle port 126 or ports may allow fordelivery vehicle connection. Such a connection may allow for thedelivery vehicle 132 to transfer exhaust or carbon dioxide from theexhaust holding tank 122 to the delivery vehicle 132, e.g., to empty theexhaust holding tank 122.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are simplified diagrams that illustrate a novelimplementation of a fuel and exhaust pump 200 for transporting fuel to avehicle and off-loading exhaust from the vehicle in which the fuel andexhaust pump 200 has two separate nozzles for fuel and for exhaust,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. The fuel andexhaust pump 200 may be dual sided or include nozzles, user interfaces,and other components on both sides. The fuel and exhaust pump 200 mayinclude a series of fuel selection buttons 202 and a series of fuelprice displays 204. The series of fuel selection buttons 202 may allowfor a user to select a particular fuel when prompted via the userinterface 224. The series of fuel price displays 204 may updateperiodically to display an up-to-date fuel price. Another button, e.g.,an exhaust or carbon dioxide button 206, and corresponding exhaust orcarbon dioxide price display 208 may be included on the fuel and exhaustpump 200. The exhaust or carbon dioxide price display 208 may indicatethat the user must pay an amount to off-load exhaust, will receive anamount back for off-loading exhaust, or may off-load exhaust free ofcharge. The amount received back may be a fixed amount, may be an amountper ton of exhaust off-loaded, or may be points used in a rewardsprogram.

A user may push the exhaust or carbon dioxide 206 button to indicate tothe fuel and exhaust pump 200 that the user will off-load exhaust orcarbon dioxide. The fuel and exhaust pump 200 may also include a keypad210, a card chip reader 212, and a card magnetic strip reader 214, or atouchscreen, or other device or digital and/or wireless interface (e.g.,an application on a user's computing device and/or at an interface ofthe fuel and exhaust pump 200) designed or configured to accept userinteraction and payment. Such components may allow a user to transactpayment for user fuel and/or to off-load exhaust or carbon dioxide. Insuch examples, a user may drive a user vehicle in front of the fuel andexhaust pump 200. The display 224 may show or display a prompt notingthat the user may insert a credit or debit card. Instructions may beincluded or provided on the fuel and exhaust pump 200 with respect tohow such actions are to be performed. After insertion and removal of thecredit or debit card, the display 224 may include a prompt 218 askingwhether the card is a debit card. If the card is a debit card, which theuser may indicate by depressing or pushing buttons 216 corresponding to“Yes” 220 or “No” 222, the display 224 may prompt the user to enter apin number corresponding to the debit card into the keypad 210. Otherprompts associated with other forms of payment may be displayed. Uponpayment, the display 224 may prompt the user to select a type of fuel,via the series of fuel buttons 202. Upon selection of a fuel type, thedisplay 224 may prompt 240 the user to select whether to off-loadexhaust or carbon dioxide, either via the exhaust or carbon dioxidebutton 206 or via selection on the display 224 through buttons 216corresponding to “Yes” 220 or “No” 222. In another embodiment, a usermay want to only off-load exhaust or carbon dioxide. In such anembodiment, after selection of payment type and payment, the user maydepress or push the exhaust or carbon dioxide button 206 and not selectany of the series of fuel buttons 202.

The fuel and exhaust pump 200 may include two separate nozzles. A fuelnozzle (see 232) may connect to the fuel pipe 226 and an exhaust nozzle(see 240) may connect to the exhaust pipe 228. The fuel nozzle (see 232)may correspond to a vehicles fuel port. The other end of the fuel pipe226 may connect to a fuel tank (see 230.) Such connections may allow forfluid communication between the fuel nozzle (see 232), the fuel pipe226, and the fuel tank (see 230) or fuel holding tank. A selected fuelmay have a fuel flow 228 through the fuel pipe 226 from the fuel tank(see 230) to the fuel nozzle (see 232). In such examples, the pipe maybe comprised of varying and/or different segments. For example, asegment of the fuel pipe 226 visible to the customer or user may be aflexible pipe or flexible hose. Other segments or portions may beunderground and may be rigid or flexible, depending on the type ofmaterial used for the fuel pipe 226 or site specific layouts. Suchflexibility may allow a user to place the fuel nozzle 232 into thecorresponding vehicle fuel port while the motorist vehicle or othervehicle is in a range near the fuel and exhaust pump 200.

The exhaust nozzle (see 240) may correspond to the exhaust port of avehicle. An exhaust nozzle (see 240) may connect to and be in fluidcommunication with the exhaust pipe 234. The other end of the exhaustpipe 234 may connect to an exhaust holding tank (see 238). Suchconnections may allow for fluid communication between the exhaust nozzle(see 240), the exhaust pipe 234, and the exhaust holding tank (see 238)or exhaust tank. An exhaust flow 236 may flow through the exhaust pipe234 from the exhaust nozzle 240 to the exhaust holding tank 238. In suchexamples, the exhaust pipe 234 may include varying and/or differentsegments. For example, a segment of the exhaust pipe 234 visible to thecustomer may be a flexible pipe or flexible hose. Other segments orportions may be underground and may be rigid or flexible, depending onthe type of material used for the exhaust pipe 234 or site specificlayouts. Such flexibility may allow a user to place the exhaust nozzle(see 240) into the corresponding vehicle exhaust port while the vehicleis in a range near the fuel and exhaust pump 200. Each segment utilizedmay be configured to withstand the pressure and/or temperature of theexhaust or carbon dioxide off-loaded.

In an embodiment, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may initially includecomponents related to fueling a vehicle or may be considered a fuel pumpor fuel dispenser. The portions or components related to pumping exhaustmay be retrofitted or be added to the fuel pump or fuel dispenser, thuscreating the fuel and exhaust pump 200. In another embodiment, theportions or components related to pumping exhaust may be a part of akit. The kit may be added to or installed on existing fuel dispensers.In other embodiments, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may be constructedas illustrated in FIG. 3A through FIG. 3B. In yet other embodiments, anexhaust pump may not include portions or components related to fuelpumping or fuel dispensing. The exhaust pump may be a standalone systemfor removing exhaust.

FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, and FIG. 4D are simplified diagrams thatillustrate a novel implementation of a fuel and exhaust pump fortransporting fuel to a vehicle and off-loading exhaust from the vehiclein which the fuel and exhaust pump includes two separate nozzles forfuel and for exhaust and a touchscreen user interface for userinteraction, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Insuch embodiments, the fuel and exhaust pump 300 may include a userinterface 306. The user interface 306 may be disposed on one or bothsides of the fuel and exhaust pump 300. The user interface 306 may be atouchscreen or include another input device, such as a mobile orelectronic application on a user's device and in signal communicationwith the fuel and exhaust pump 300.

As a user begins the operation of fueling and/or off-loading exhaust, acomputing device within or connected to the fuel and exhaust pump 300may transmit prompts to the user interface 306 with the prompts beingdisplayed on the user interface 306. As used herein, a “computingdevice” may refer to an electronic device including or connected to oneor more processors and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,e.g., including, but not limited to, a controller, a desktop computer, amicrocontroller connected to memory, a server, an edge server, a cloudserver, or other devices, as will be understood by those skilled in theart. As used herein, a “non-transitory machine-readable storage medium”may be any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storageapparatus to contain or store information such as executableinstructions, data, and the like. For example, any machine-readablestorage medium described herein may be any of random access memory(RAM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, flash memory, a storagedrive (e.g., hard drive), a solid state drive, any type of storage disc,and the like, or a combination thereof. As noted, the memory may storeor include instructions executable by the processor. As used herein, a“processor” may include, for example one processor or multipleprocessors included in a single device or distributed across multiplecomputing devices. The processor may be at least one of a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a semiconductor-based microprocessor, a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) toretrieve and execute instructions, a real time processor (RTP),application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other electroniccircuitry suitable for the retrieval and execution instructions storedon a machine-readable storage medium, or a combination thereof.

As used herein, “signal communication” refers to electric communicationsuch as hard wiring two components together or wireless communication,as understood by those skilled in the art. For example, wirelesscommunication may be Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, ZigBee, or forms of near fieldcommunications. In addition, signal communication may include one ormore intermediate controllers or relays disposed between elements thatare in signal communication with one another.

The computing device may prompt (see 302) the user to select a fueltype. A series of selectable buttons 304 may then be displayed on theuser interface 306. Each of the series of selectable buttons 304 mayinclude a price associated with a type of fuel. The user may then selecta type of fuel. In other examples, an option to skip fuel selection maybe displayed on the user interface 306. In yet other examples, optionsto select fuel and exhaust off-load may be displayed together to allow auser to select fuel and/or exhaust off-loading simultaneously. The userinterface 306 may also include or display other information related toeach different type of fuel. For example, the user interface 306 maydisplay the type of fuel, a carbon intensity of the fuel, an origin ofthe fuel, certifications regarding fuel sustainability, cost of thefuel, and/or any other quantifiable aspects of the fuel. The carbonintensity of a fuel may be represented by the amount of carbon dioxideby weight per the energy consumed and/or expended toobtain/refine/create/transport the fuel from wellhead to the fuel andexhaust pump 300 and/or the inherent or theoretical carbon dioxide byweight per the energy consumed during future combustion of the fuel.Stated another way, the carbon intensity may represent the amount ofcarbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases produced at each step of thefuel's lifecycle; scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions, e.g.,exploration and production at a wellhead, transporting to a refinery,processing at a refinery, production at a bio-fuel or ethanol plant orfacility, transporting to a convenience store or the like, storage,combustion of the fuel, other processes related to the production and/oruse of the fuel (e.g., the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, andEnergy use in Transportation (GREET) model, etc.). In addition todisplaying the carbon intensity of a fuel, the user interface 306 mayalso determine a carbon intensity reduction based on an amount ofexhaust or carbon dioxide pumped from a vehicle. For example, if a userselects a particular fuel at a particular carbon intensity and thenpumps an amount of exhaust or carbon dioxide via the fuel and exhaustpump 300, the user interface 306 may display the net carbon intensity,e.g., the carbon intensity of the fuel reduced by the amount of carbondioxide captured by the user during transportation. The carbon intensitymeasured for particular vehicles may be used as a metric to compare toother options of transportation, e.g. internal combustion engine vehicleas compared with a battery electric vehicle or as compared to a hydrogenfuel cell or hydrogen fueled vehicle.

After selection of a fuel or if the user skips fuel selection, thecomputing device may generate a prompt 330, to display on the userinterface 306, for the user to select whether to remove captured exhaustor carbon dioxide from the vehicle or the on-board exhaust capturedevice of the vehicle. The user interface 306 may display a series ofselectable pop-up buttons 332, including the option of whether tooff-load exhaust or not and a potential cost associated with off-loadingthe exhaust. In at least embodiment, off-loading exhaust may not includea cost, but a savings. In another embodiment, off-loading exhaust mayinclude a fee or nominal cost, but also include an incentive, such asfree goods and/or services, discounts on goods and/or services, and/or adiscount on fuel. In yet another embodiment, a user may be compensatedfor off-loading exhaust and the user interface 306 may indicate theamount a user may be compensated for a certain amount or quantity ofexhaust.

After selecting a fuel and/or selecting whether to off-load exhaust, theuser may be prompted to transact payment for the selected fuel and/orexhaust off-loading operation. In an embodiment, the user interface 306may include options to pay, for example, via entering a username andcredentials for a payment account. In another embodiment the fuel andexhaust pump 300 may include a keypad 308, chip reader 310, and/ormagnetic strip reader 312. The user interface 306 may then include aprompt to effectuate payment.

Once a payment has been made, the user interface 306 may prompt theuser, if the selection to fuel the vehicle has been made by the user, toinsert a fuel nozzle (see 320) into a corresponding fuel port of avehicle and to insert an exhaust nozzle (see 328) into a correspondingexhaust port of a vehicle, if the selection to off-load exhaust from thevehicle has been made by the user. The fuel nozzle (see 320) may be influid communication with a fuel pipe 314 and the fuel pipe 314 may be influid communication with a fuel tank (see 318). Fuel may flow, e.g.,fuel flow 316, from the fuel tank (see 318) through the fuel pipe 314and to the fuel nozzle (see 320), and thus to the vehicle. The exhaustnozzle (see 328) may be in fluid communication with an exhaust pipe 322and the exhaust pipe 322 may be in fluid communication with an exhaustholding tank (see 328). Exhaust may flow, e.g., exhaust flow 360, fromthe on-board exhaust capture device of the vehicle to the exhaust nozzle(see 328) through the exhaust pipe 322 and to the exhaust holding tank(see 326). In an embodiment, the fuel and exhaust pump 300 may preventpumping of exhaust until it is determined that the exhaust nozzle (see328) is sealingly engaged with the corresponding exhaust port of thevehicle.

In an embodiment, the fuel and exhaust pump 300 may include meters,sensors, and/or analyzers. The meters, sensors, and/or analyzers may bepositioned upstream of the fuel nozzle 320 and/or downstream of theexhaust nozzle 328. The meters may be positioned to measure an amount offuel and/or exhaust, in relation to fuel flowing through the fuel pipe314 and in relation to exhaust flowing through the exhaust pipe 322,respectively. As the fuel is pumped to the vehicle, the fuel meter maytransmit an amount, e.g., volume, of fuel to the user interface 306 or acomputing device in signal communication with the user interface 306. Arolling or continuously updating total 336, e.g., a total increasing asfuel is pumped, may be displayed, along with an associated cost, on theuser interface 306. The type of selected fuel 334 may be identified onthe user interface 306. As the exhaust is pumped from the vehicle, theexhaust meter may transmit an amount of exhaust to the user interface306 or a computing device in signal communication with the userinterface 306. A rolling or continuously updating total 340, e.g., atotal increasing as exhaust is pumped from the vehicle, may bedisplayed, along with an associated cost or payment, on the userinterface. The flow of exhaust 338 may be identified on the userinterface 306. In another embodiment, the rolling or continuouslyupdating total 340 may count down from a total amount of exhaust in thevehicle as such total amount may be measured, calculated, or estimated.In a further embodiment, the rolling or continuously updating total 340may include a time until the amount of exhaust is completely off-loaded.In such embodiments, the amount of exhaust stored on a vehicle may bedetermined by the computing device via connections to the vehiclethrough pins or input/outputs on the exhaust nozzle 328. The pins orinput/outputs may correspond to pins or inputs/outputs on a vehicle'sexhaust port. Data, including the amount of exhaust stored in a vehicle,may be transferred from the vehicle to the fuel and exhaust pump 300 viathe pins or inputs/outputs. In such examples, the data may be utilizedto determine an amount of exhaust to off-load and, based on that amount,estimate or determine the time to off-load the exhaust. In anotherembodiment, the corresponding pins or inputs/outputs of the vehicle mayconnect to an on-board diagnostic module of the vehicle. The on-boarddiagnostic module may include an amount of exhaust currently captured bythe vehicle based on factors, such as, the amount of fuel consumed by aninternal combustion engine and the exhaust flow.

Measurements of the flow rate or amount of exhaust flowing from thevehicle may be stored in the non-transitory machine readable storagemedium or memory of: a computing device associated with a conveniencestore that is in signal communication with the fuel and exhaust pump 300at that location, or of a computing device external to the conveniencestore (e.g., off-site or remote therefrom) that is in signalcommunication with the fuel and exhaust pump 300. Data relating toexhaust off-loading may be accumulated over a period of time or untilthe exhaust is picked up by a delivery vehicle. The data may be includedin a report. The report may be generated by a computing device internalor external to the convenience store or wherever the fuel and exhaustpump 300 may be located. The report may be in a format suitable forenvironmental reports to be sent to local, state, and or federalgovernment agencies. The data may also be listed or displayed on theuser interface 306. The data may be displayed as an exhaust off-loadhistory for a particular user, a local exhaust off-load history (e.g.,city, town, county, etc.,), a state off-load exhaust history, acountry-wide exhaust off-load history, and/or global exhaust off-loadhistory as illustrated by portion 342 of the user interface 306.

In another embodiment, an analyzer may be disposed at a point betweenthe exhaust nozzle 328 and exhaust holding tank (see 326). The analyzermay obtain or receive a sample of the exhaust. The analyzer maydetermine, via predictive analytics, machine learning, and/or artificialintelligence, the composition of the sample. The analyzer may send thecomposition of the exhaust to the computing device for storage, forreporting, or for display on the user interface 306. The user interface306 may display the composition of the exhaust. The computing device maydetermine, based on the composition of the exhaust, whether a vehiclemay be ready for or in need of service or preventative maintenance. Thecomputing device may determine that the vehicle may require servicing ormaintenance. The user interface 306 may display the suggestion ordetermination. Based on differing amounts of different chemicals, orpurity, in the exhaust, the computing device may determine potentialissues with the vehicle, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device, orthe thermal efficiency of the vehicle. For example, if the exhaustincludes high amounts of unburned fuel, then the computing device maydetermine that the vehicles engine may be experiencing issues. Inanother example, the computing device may determine, based on higherthan typical amounts of nitric oxides in exhaust, that an issue existswith a catalytic converter.

FIGS. 5A-6 are simplified diagrams that illustrate a further novelimplementation of a fuel and exhaust pump 400 (FIG. 5A). In embodiments,the fuel and exhaust pump 400 may be similar to the fuel and exhaustpump 200 or fuel and exhaust pump 300 of FIGS. 2A-2D and FIGS. 3A-3B. Inthe present embodiment shown in FIGS. 5B-6 , the fuel and exhaust pumpincorporates a multi-function nozzle assembly 401 (FIG. 5B-5E) as partof a combined fueling and exhaust capture system 405 schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 6 for supplying fuel (e.g. gasoline, diesel fuel,etc.) to a vehicle 402, while also enabling off-loading captured exhaustfrom the vehicle 402. In such an implementation the vehicle 402 willinclude both a liquid fuel tank 403 and an on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device 404 configured to capture CO₂ and other vehicle exhaustgasses.

The vehicle 402 generally will include a fuel intake line 403A and anexhaust outflow line 404A that can be integrated, e.g. with the fuelintake line contained within the exhaust outflow line, so as to enableboth removal of exhaust (e.g. CO₂) from the exhaust capture device ofthe vehicle and fueling of the vehicle via the multi-function nozzleassembly 401 through a combined inlet/outlet, such, as indicated at 406in FIGS. 2D, 5F and 6 . The inlet/outlet 406 can include both an exhaustport or outlet 407 connected to the exhaust capture device 404 (FIG. 6), such as one or more CO₂ tanks 408 for collection of CO₂ and othervehicle exhaust gasses on-board he vehicle, by exhaust outflow line404A; and a fuel port or inlet 409 connected to the fuel tank 403 of thevehicle by the fuel intake line 403A. As indicated in FIG. 6 , the fuelintake line 403A and exhaust outflow line 404A can be joined orintegrated together at a T-Joint 411 such that the fuel intake line willbe received within and extend along the exhaust outflow line 404A to theinlet/outlet.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5D and 6 , the fuel tank 403 can includea pressure relief valve 412 adapted to vent excess fuel gases to a vaporrecovery system or to the atmosphere. The pressure relief valve will beconfigured to be biased or otherwise maintained in a closed positionuntil a gas pressure within the fuel tank 403, due to formation ofexcess fuel gas therein, exceeds a selected threshold pressure for thefuel tank 403, causing the pressure relief valve to open for venting theexcess gas to the vapor recovery system or to atmosphere, as indicatedin FIG. 6 , to reduce pressure within the fuel tank and help minimizecavitation of the liquid fuel in the fuel pump or in the fuel tank.

Each fuel and exhaust pump 400 (FIG. 5A) of the combined fueling andexhaust capture system 405 (FIG. 6 ) can include a multi-function nozzleassembly 401 for use in both fueling the vehicle and extracting CO₂therefrom through a single nozzle, which fueling and exhaust off-loadoperations can be conducted in a substantially simultaneous operation orin separate operations as needed. As illustrated, in FIGS. 5B-5D and5G-5I the multi-function nozzle assembly 401 can include a housing 420or body that defines an exhaust nozzle 421, and a fuel nozzle 422 housedwithin and movable along the exhaust nozzle 421, and which is coupled toa fuel intake line 425. The fuel nozzle 422 and fuel intake line 425define a first or inner annular fuel inlet passage or cavity 423configured for supplying fuel to the fuel tank of the vehicle, while theexhaust nozzle 421 defines a second or outer annular exhaust outletpassage, indicated at 424, circumscribed about the fuel nozzle 422 andconfigured for enabling removal or off-loading of captured exhaust. Thefuel nozzle 422 is generally centrally located within the exhaust nozzle421, as shown in FIGS. 5B-5D and 5G-5I, and extends through the exhaustnozzle 421 of the multi-function nozzle assembly 401 for receiving andsupplying fuel along the inner fuel passage to the vehicle fuel tank,indicated by arrow 427, while exhaust is removed via the outer annularexhaust passage, as indicated by arrow 429, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure. The exhaust can be captured and/orremoved in a liquid phase or gaseous phase, or combination thereof.

As indicated in FIGS. 5B-5D, the exhaust nozzle 421 can be configuredwith or include a first or main body portion 431 having an outer wall432, a closed rear or distal end 433A and an inlet or proximal end 433Bdefining an opening 434 with an annular rim 436. A second or rear bodyportion 437 extends downwardly and away from the first or main bodyportion 431 and includes a connector 438 at a distal end thereof. Theconnector 438 can include a common threaded connector or female jointtype connector adapted to engage and mate with a corresponding couplingconnection of a combined fuel and exhaust conduit or conduit 440 (FIGS.5D-5E).

As indicated in FIGS. 5D and 6 , the fuel inlet passage 423 and exhaustoutlet passage 424 extend through the multi-function nozzle assembly 401with the exhaust outlet passage circumscribed about the fuel inletpassage 423. Thus, the flow of fuel can be provided along the fuel inletpassage 423 in the direction of arrows 441, while exhaust, such as CO₂or other combustion byproducts, can be off-loaded or exhausted in anopposite direction through the exhaust outlet passage 424 as shown byarrows 442. As additionally indicated in FIG. 5D, the combined fuel andexhaust conduit 440 includes a fuel hose or line 443 contained within anouter exhaust hose 444 and extending along an outer annular passage 446defined between the exhaust hose 444 and fuel hose 443.

The fuel nozzle 422 and fuel intake line 425 of the multi-functionnozzle assembly 401 are coupled to the combined fuel and exhaust conduit440 at a common connection point through the connector 438. The fuelhose 443 connects the fuel nozzle to a fuel system 445, which generallywill include one or more fuel supplies (e.g. one or more tanks and/or orpumps supplying a fuel such as gasoline, diesel fuel, marine fuel, orother liquid or gaseous fuels, as illustrated in FIG. 6 ) for providingan inflow of fuel during a fueling operation; while the exhaust hoseconnects the exhaust nozzle to an exhaust removal and logistics system447 for off-load of captured exhaust from the on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device. In embodiments, the exhaust removal and logistics system447 can include at least one exhaust holding tank, such as CO₂ tanks448A (which can include one or more knock-out tanks and one or moreholding tanks), a refrigeration system/package 448B, and one or morepumps 448C, as well as other components as shown in FIG. 6 . The fuelhose or line 443 will be contained within the outer exhaust hose so asto be movable with the exhaust hose 444, and will separate therefrom atan upstream junction 449 (e.g. a T-junction as illustrated in FIG. 6 )and connect to the fuel supply 445.

In an embodiment, multi-function nozzle assembly 401 can be used as partof a joint refueling and exhaust capture system at a refueling site suchas a gas station, truck stop or other refueling station or operation,which refueling station, as illustrated in FIG. 6 , will include atleast one bay, e.g., bay A 494A; and further may include one or morebays, e.g., bay A 494A, bay B 494B, bay C 494 C, and/or up to bay Nshown at 494N. Each bay 494A-494N may include equipment for bothoff-load of exhaust from a vehicle, and/or for re-fueling other thevehicle, either as separate operations or as a joint/concerted refuelingand exhaust off-load operation that can include the use of amulti-function nozzle assembly 401, such as illustrated, in oneembodiment, in FIG. 5B-6 .

As illustrated in FIG. 6 , at any particular point in time, any numberof the plurality of bays 494A-494N may be active (e.g., exhaust is beingoff-loaded from a vehicle and/or a vehicle is being re-fueled). Duringsuch operations, an exhaust capture nozzle and/or a fuel nozzle (e.g. inembodiments, the multi-function nozzle assembly 401) will be engagedwith the exhaust outlet and/or fuel intake ports of the vehicle, andonce a seal is determined to be in effect, an exhaust off-load and/orfueling operation is initiated upon the user engaging and squeezing orotherwise moving the trigger of the nozzle, whereupon the controller forthe fuel pump can signal a station controller to begin draw-out of theexhaust and/or pumping of fuel. To regulate or control pressure duringsuch operations, for example, to control the suction for off-load ofexhaust and/or for fueling, the site may include pressure controldevices. Such pressure control devices may include a control valve,spillback loops, pumps, and/or other devices configured to adjustpressure.

As shown in FIG. 6 , in an embodiment, the site may include controlvalves and spillback loops to regulate and/or control pressure (e.g.,control valve 495A, control valve 495B, control valve 495C, and/or up tocontrol valve 495N). During an exhaust off-load operation, the pressureof fluid from a vehicle 101 may be high (e.g., as high as about 1400psig). The exhaust holding tanks of the site may be configured to holdfluid at a particular pressure, for example about 300 psig to about 350psig. Preferably, the pressure of the captured exhaust being supplied tothe exhaust removal and logistics system 447 (as indicated at line 496which connects the exhaust conduits of each bay to the exhaust removaland logistics system 447) and the suction or back-pressure for theoff-load of exhaust from each bay will be substantially stable. As morethan one bays operate, the pressure drop from the vehicles may vary orfluctuate decrease. To adjust pressure of exhaust flowing from anyparticular vehicle, the control valve between the exhaust line 496 andthe exhaust conduit of each bay will be adjusted or controlled by thestation controller to regulate its operation, e.g. opening and closingof the control valves, to maintain a substantially consistent pressure.Such control valves may be controlled by a computing device or stationcontroller on site. Further, the pressure at any given point throughoutthe piping or pipeline of the site may be determined via one or morepressure sensors or transducers. For example, a pressure transducer orsensor may be positioned proximate to the control valves and upstreamand/or downstream of the control valves.

In embodiments, the fuel hose or line 443 also can include an insulatingmaterial, such as a heat tracing, or a sleeve, cover or a coating of athermal insulation material, or a combination thereof, to help protectthe fuel therein from the substantially lower temperature CO₂ passing bythe fuel line through the exhaust hose. In embodiments the combined fueland exhaust conduit can have a diameter of about 2.75″ to about 4″,including a fuel line with a dimeter of about 0.75″ to about 1″. Otherdiameters/sizes also can be provided. In addition, to aid in use andmovement of the combined fuel and exhaust conduit at the fuel pump, thecombined fuel and exhaust conduit can be supported at the fuel pump byan overhead arm, cable, or other moveable support.

A flexible connector or coupling 450 (FIGS. 5D and 5G-5I) couples thefuel nozzle 422 to the fuel intake line 425 within the multi-functionnozzle assembly. The connector 450 will comprise a flexible conduit ortube configured to expand and contract, and is located between the fuelnozzle and fuel intake line. The connector expands and contracts tomaintain the connection between the fuel nozzle and the fuel intake lineas the fuel nozzle translates along the exhaust passage, moving forwardand rearward along the exhaust passage of the exhaust nozzle asindicated by arrows 451/451′, into and away from engagement with thearea 409A of the fuel port 409 for the fuel tank 403 of the vehicle.

As indicated in FIGS. 5B-5D, the multi-function nozzle assembly 401further includes a handle 455 that is pivotally attached to the housing420. In embodiments, the handle 455 includes a hand grip 456 with sideportions 457A/457B projecting downwardly to a hinge 458 that pivotallycouples to a trigger 459 thereto. The trigger 459 of the handlegenerally can be biased toward a forward position, and is coupled to thefuel nozzle 422 by linkage 461 that extends through the outer wall ofthe housing and into the exhaust passage. The linkage 461 will becoupled to the fuel nozzle such that as the trigger is engaged andsqueezed or moved rearwardly, toward the second body portion, in thedirection of arrow 462, the fuel nozzle will be urged forwardly in thedirection of arrow 451 toward and into engagement with the port of thevehicle fuel tank.

As the fuel nozzle 422 is moved forwardly upon a user squeezing thetrigger 459 of the handle 344, the flexible connector 450 will expand asillustrated in FIG. 5I to maintain the connection between the fuelnozzle and fuel intake line, and once the fuel nozzle is detected to bein sealed engagement with the fuel port of the vehicle, a fuelingoperation can be initiated. For example, one or more sensors, such asshown at 463 in FIGS. 5G-5I, can be provided within the fuel passage oralong the fuel nozzle. The one or more sensors can be configured todetect when the fuel nozzle is in a substantially air-tight sealingengagement with the fuel port of the vehicle, and/or to detect andmeasure a back-pressure within the fuel nozzle indicative of the fueltank nearing or reaching a full capacity, and can send a feedback signalto the fuel pump to stop fueling.

After the trigger 459 of the handle 455 has been released, such as aftercompletion of a fueling operation, the trigger 459 can be biased orotherwise moved toward or reset to its forward position so that the fuelnozzle is retracted in the direction of arrow 451′, to retract the fuelnozzle out of the fuel port. During a fueling operation, the triggerwill be locked/secured in place. In embodiments, the trigger can belocked in place by the hinge, e.g. by a locking pin 464 (FIGS. 5B-5D) orclutch mechanism that will need to be disengaged before the trigger canbe repositioned to its forward, disengaged or deactivated position. Asthe fuel nozzle is retracted into the exhaust outlet passage of theexhaust nozzle, with the flexible conduit likewise will be retractedback to its compressed, initial position shown in FIG. 5G.

As further indicated in FIGS. 5G-5I, the fuel nozzle 422 generally willbe urged into the fuel port 409 of the vehicle fuel tank 403 in a tightfitting engagement to insure sealing. For example, the area 409A behindthe fuel port 409 can have a taper or narrowed configuration so as tocreate a friction or interference fit between the forward end/portion422A of the fuel nozzle 422 and the fuel port.

In addition, sealing materials 465 can be provided along the interfacebetween the fuel nozzle and the fuel port to ensure that a substantiallyair-tight seal will be created between the fuel nozzle and the fuel tankof the vehicle. Such sealing materials 465 can include one or moregaskets, o-rings or other sealing elements located at speed intervalsalong the area 409A behind the fuel port 409. In addition, the forwardend 422A of the fuel nozzle 422 can be formed with correspondinggrooves, recesses or other features 466 configured to receive suchsealing materials 465 therein. For example, as indicated in FIGS. 5G-5I,the o-rings, gaskets, etc. 465 can be engaged and seated within thegrooves 466 of the fuel nozzle create one or more sealing surfacesbetween the outer circumference or wall 423B of the fuel nozzle and thefuel port 409 the vehicle fuel tank. When the fuel nozzle is insertedinto the fuel port of the vehicle, the sealing features can be urgedinto overlapped or otherwise engaging contact to create the seal betweenthe fuel nozzle and fuel tank of the vehicle to resist leakage of fuelfrom the fuel nozzle, as well as leakage of exhaust into the fuel tankas the exhaust materials such as CO₂, and/or other byproducts ofcombustion, are extracted and off-loaded through the exhaust passage 424of the exhaust nozzle 421, which off-loaded exhaust materials could beat high pressure and variable temperatures, as shown in FIGS. 5B-5D.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate additional, alternative embodiments oflocking mechanisms 470A and 470B for providing a locked, substantiallysealed engagement between the fuel port 409 of the vehicle fuel tank andthe fuel nozzle 422. In FIG. 7A, the locking mechanism 470A includes 2or more cam arms 471 arranged at spaced intervals (e.g. at 12 and 6o'clock positions, and/or at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions, etc.).The cam arms 471 can be pivoted outwardly as indicated by arrows 472,such that forward edges or catch portions 473 of the cam arms can engagea rim 474 or other surface of the fuel port for locking of the forwardend 422A of the fuel nozzle 422 with the fuel port 409. The cam arms canbe pivoted between an engaged, locked position, and a retracted ordisengaged position manually or automatically. For example, inembodiments, the cam arms could be coupled to rods, cables, or otherconnectors connected to the linkage that drives the forward and rearwardmovement of the fuel nozzle such that as the linkage moves forwardly tourge the fuel nozzle into engagement with the fuel port, the connectorscan cause the arms or prongs to be pivoted to their engaged, lockingposition. As the linkage is retracted, and causing the retraction of thefuel nozzle out of engagement with the fuel port and back into theexhaust nozzle, these connectors likewise will be retracted by therearward movement of the linkage, causing the cam arms to pivot in thedirection of arrows 472 back to their disengaged position against theouter wall of the fuel nozzle.

In FIG. 7B, the locking mechanism 470B rises a threaded connection orlock. In this embodiment, the port can be provided with a series ofthreads 475 arranged about the rim 474 or other surface of the fuel port409, and with the fuel nozzle can include a connector 476 having aseries of corresponding threads 477 formed therein. The connector 476can comprise a female type connector in which the threads of the fuelport will be received, and as the fuel nozzle is rotated, for example,with the rotation of the multi-function nozzle assembly for locking themulti-function nozzle assembly in place for a combined fueling andexhaust offload operation, the threads 477 of the connector 476 and thecorresponding threads 475 of the fuel port 409 will engage and create asealed engagement between the fuel nozzle and the fuel port. Rotation ofthe connector 476 can be by rotation of the fuel nozzle; oralternatively, can be accomplished without rotation of the fuel nozzle.For example, the connector 476 can rotate independently from the fuelnozzle and can be biased or spring-loaded by a bearing such that inresponse to the fuel nozzle being urged into and against the threads ofthe fuel port as the fuel nozzle is urged forwardly against the fuelport, the threads of the fuel port and the connector are caused to slideor rotate along each other. Other types of locking or couplingmechanisms configured to the fuel nozzle and fuel port of the vehiclefuel tank in a sealed, substantially airtight engagement also can beprovided.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5B-5D, the multi-function nozzle assembly401 generally will include locking or latching features 480 for lockingthe exhaust nozzle into sealed engagement with the exhaust port of thevehicle for off-loading of captured exhaust therefrom. The lockingfeatures may be spring loaded or friction or dynamic based, and in someembodiments, can utilize a twisting motion or action for locking themulti-function nozzle assembly in place in a sealed engagement with thefuel port and exhaust port of a vehicle.

By way of example and not limitation, in embodiments, as indicated inthe Figures, the locking features 480 can include one or more lockingchannels 481 defined along the outer surface or wall 432 of the mainbody portion 431 of the exhaust nozzle 421, and corresponding to lockingfeatures, e.g. projections 482 (FIG. 5F) arranged at intervals about anannular rim 483 surrounding the exhaust port 407 of the vehicle, andprojecting inwardly therefrom as shown in FIG. 5F. Each of the lockingchannels 481 (FIGS. 5D-5C) generally can include an open receiving end484 formed in the annular rim 436 of the main body portion 431 of theexhaust nozzle 421 and configured to receive a corresponding projectiontherein, a rearwardly extending passage or channel 486, and lockingsection 487 that extends in a substantially perpendicular direction tothe rearwardly extending channel 486.

As a user inserts the multi-function nozzle assembly 401 into theinlet/outlet of the vehicle, the open ends 484 of each of the lockingchannels 481 of the exhaust nozzle 421 will be brought into alignmentwith the locking projections 482 formed along the rim or annular surface483 of the exhaust port 407. The locking projections 482 will slidealong the locking channels 481 as the forward end of the exhaust nozzle421 is moved forwardly and into engagement with the surface of theexhaust port 407. The entire multi-function nozzle assembly then will berotated, e.g. approximately one-quarter of a turn either clockwise orcounterclockwise, to position the locking projections into the lockingsections 487 of the locking channels 481 and lock the multi-functionnozzle assembly in engagement with the inlet/outlet 406 of the vehicle.During insertion, the multi-function nozzle assembly may need to berotated, so as to position the locking projections 482 of the exhaustport into alignment with the receiving ends 484 of the locking channels481 the multi-function nozzle assembly in place.

The annular rim 436 defined about the open front end 434 of the exhaustnozzle also can include a sealing material such as a gasket, o-ring,etc. Such sealing materials will be adapted to seal against thecorresponding annular outer surface of the exhaust port. Further, inembodiments, the exhaust port can include a sealing material, such as aplastic or rubberized material coating or compressible sealing material,located thereabout and which can be engaged against the annular rim ofthe exhaust nozzle to help create a tight, locked seal so as to preventleakage of exhaust from the exhaust nozzle into the surroundingatmosphere during an exhaust off-load operation. Other locking, latchingand/or sealing features also may be utilized. For example, and not bylimitation, a threaded connector or other type of locking or press fitconnector also can be used.

In addition, in embodiments, the multi-function nozzle assembly also caninclude guiding of self-locating features 490 (FIGS. 5B, 5C, 5E, and5G-5I) configured to facilitate alignment of the locking channels 481 ofthe exhaust nozzle with the corresponding locking projections 482 orfeatures of the exhaust port of a vehicle. By way of example, and notlimitation, in some embodiments, a self-locking feature 490 can includea series of magnets 491 that can be arranged in one or more sectionsabout the annular rim 436 of the exhaust nozzle. The magnets 491 of theexhaust nozzle will be attracted to corresponding magnetic elements 492(FIGS. 5G-5I) that can be arranged about the annular outer surface ofthe exhaust port. For example, sections of metal or other magneticallyattractive materials can be positioned about the annular outer surfaceof the exhaust port at spaced locations selected to direct or helplocate the locking channels of the exhaust nozzle with the correspondinglocking features of the exhaust port.

The magnetic self-locating features 490 further can help create a tight,sealed engagement between the exhaust nozzle and the exhaust port by theadditional magnetic attraction force created between the exhaust nozzleand the annular outer surface of the exhaust port. The magnetic locatingfeatures further can be coated with a plastic, rubber or compositecoating material that acts as a sealing materials and prevents directmetal to metal contact between the exhaust nozzle and the annular outersurface of the exhaust port, without diminishing the magnetic attractionforce there between, and still allowing rotational movement of theexhaust nozzle. Other types of self-locating or guiding mechanisms alsocan be used.

FIGS. 5G-5I schematically illustrate operation of the multi-functionnozzle assembly 401 according to principles of the present disclosure aspart of a combined fueling and exhaust capture system 405 (FIG. 6 ) foruse in vehicle fueling and exhaust off-load operations at a fuelingstation, e.g. a gas station, railyard, marina, truck-stop, etc. . . . .The fueling and exhaust off-load operations can be conductedsubstantially simultaneously, i.e. fuel can be supplied to the fuel tankof the vehicle from the fuel supply 445 via the fuel nozzle, while atsubstantially the same time, captured exhaust gasses, such as CO₂ and/orother byproducts of combustion stored on the vehicle, can be off-loadedthrough the exhaust nozzle and collected at the exhaust removal andlogistics system 447 for downstream processing. Such fueling and exhaustoff-loading operations also could be conducted separately using themulti-function nozzle assembly as needed. It further will be understoodby those skilled in the art that while the present embodimentillustrates use of the multi-function nozzle assembly for use with acombined fueling and exhaust capture system 405 (FIG. 6 ), themulti-function nozzle assembly also can be used in other applications,such as, by way of example and not limitation, with a fuel deliveryvehicle that is configured to provide a supply of fuel, as well as forremoval of exhaust from an exhaust capture device.

As shown in FIGS. 5G-5I, a user or operator will place themulti-function nozzle assembly into the combined inlet/outlet port 406of the vehicle, and will engage the locking features 480 between theexhaust nozzle 421 and the exhaust port 407, e.g. by moving the lockingprojections 482 arranged from the exhaust port 407 into and along thelocking channels 481 of the exhaust nozzle. In addition, theself-locating features of the multi-function nozzle assembly cancooperate with corresponding self-locating features of the exhaust portso as to position or locate the locking channels of the multi-functionnozzle assembly with the corresponding locking features of the exhaustport.

The user or operator will extend the exhaust nozzle of themulti-function nozzle assembly into the exhaust port until the lockingprojections reach the end of the locking channels, and thereafter willrotate the exhaust nozzle (e.g. by rotating the entire multi-functionnozzle assembly) approximately one-quarter of a turn to lock themulti-function nozzle assembly in place, with the exhaust nozzle beingsealed against the annular or outer surface of the exhaust port 407.Once the multi-function nozzle assembly has been locked into position,and a proper air-tight seal is indicated between the exhaust nozzle andthe exhaust port (e.g. via the use of sensors that can be located alongthe housing of the multi-function nozzle assembly, along the exhaustoutlet passage, and/or between the annular rim thereof and the annularouter surface of the exhaust port), the user or operator can engage thetrigger 459, e.g. pull or squeeze the trigger rearwardly in thedirection of arrow 461, causing the corresponding linkage 461 couplingthe handle to the fuel nozzle 422 to extend. In addition, once a lockposition is reached, the magnetic attraction between the surface of theexhaust port and the exhaust nozzle, e.g. through the engagement of themagnetic self-locating features, can intensify to help create asubstantially tighter seal due to the sealing over-coating applied overthe magnets and magnetically attractive surfaces 492 of the exhaustnozzle and exhaust port, creating seal compression.

As indicated in FIG. 5I, the forward end 422A of the fuel nozzle 422will be urged or driven fuel nozzle into a friction fit within the fuelport of the vehicle fuel tank, whereupon the sealing features, e.g. thegaskets, o-rings etc. located along or adjacent the area 409A behind thefuel port 409 and cooperative features positioned along the fuel nozzleengage to create a substantially air-tight fully sealed condition.

Once the fueling and exhaust capture system 405 (FIG. 6 ) recognizesthat the exhaust and fuel nozzles have been properly connected, withadequate seals between the fuel and exhaust nozzles and their respectiveexhaust outlet and fuel ports, the fueling and exhaust capture systemcan initiate a fueling operation during which fuel will be suppliedthrough the fuel intake line and the fuel nozzle of the multi-functionnozzle assembly 401 and into the vehicle's fuel tank. At substantiallythe same time, the fueling and exhaust capture system also can start anoff-load of the exhaust gasses, such as CO₂ and other combustionbyproducts, through the exhaust nozzle of the multi-function nozzleassembly and along the combined fuel and exhaust conduit. As noted, thefueling and exhaust off-load operations can be conducted together, withthe fuel flowing in from the fuel supply as shown in FIG. 6 , and theexhaust flowing out, in an opposite direction along the combined fueland exhaust conduit.

As further indicated in FIGS. 5I-51 , the fuel nozzle generally willinclude one or more sensors, including at least one fuel sensor 463 thatcan be located along the fuel passage 426, as well as at least onesensor 496 configured to monitor pressure of the outflow of exhaustalong the exhaust passage of the exhaust nozzle. Other sensors, such asfor measurement of temperature of the exhaust, also can be provided. Thesensor 463 can monitor the flow of fuel and signal the fueling andexhaust capture system to substantially slow and then stop the flow ofto the fuel nozzle upon detection of a predetermined back-flow pressureas an indication that the fuel tank is reaching a full condition.

In addition, the exhaust outlet passage can have one or more built-inpressure sensors 496 (FIG. 5D) that can monitor the outflow of exhaustand can shut down the outflow of exhaust along the exhaust passage upona predetermined or selected pressure reading. For example, as thecaptured exhaust is off-loaded, the pressure of the flow of exhaust maydecrease. The fueling and exhaust system can be programmed to stop anexhaust off-load operation when a pre-determined or selected back-flowpressure at the outflow of exhaust is detected. This pressure can beselected to leave some exhaust gas within the vehicle to provide aremaining working volume and/or pressure of exhaust within the vehicle.In addition, temperature of the outflow of exhaust also can be measuredto provide a further control point for stopping the exhaust off-load.

The multi-function nozzle assembly 401 may also include pin orinput/output connectors 493 as indicated in FIG. 5C that connect thesensors therein, to the fuel pump for providing sensor feedback, e.g.fuel and exhaust flow back pressure readings, temperature, etc. to thefueling and exhaust capture system, and for communication between thefuel pump and a vehicle. Such input/output connectors may correspond toassociated pins or input/output connectors located on, disposed in oron, or connected to the exhaust port of the vehicle. In such anembodiment, the vehicle may include corresponding pins or input/outputconnectors. The pin or input/output connectors of the vehicle may attachto, be in signal communication with, or connect to the on-board vehicleexhaust capture system. In some example, the fuel and exhaust pump 400also may connect via wireless connection, e.g., such as Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), and/or another method ofwireless communication, to the on-board vehicle exhaust capture system.

In embodiments, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture system may storedata regarding an amount or quantity of exhaust currently in theon-board vehicle exhaust capture device. The data may be stored in amemory accessible via the pins or inputs/outputs of the vehicle. Thedata may be accessible in an off-line or powered down state. The datamay, as noted, include the amount of exhaust stored in the on-boardvehicle exhaust capture system. The data may also include a tag that canidentify a specific vehicle engaged by the multi-function fuel nozzlefor associating with such an amount of exhaust off-loaded with thevehicle. The tag may be arbitrary numbers and/or text. The tag may bespecific to a vehicle, e.g., a vehicle identification number (VIN). Asthe data is transferred to the fuel and exhaust pump 400 via the pins orinput/output, connections between the vehicle and the multi-functionnozzle, the tag information may be transferred as well. As such, thedata gathered regarding an amount of exhaust off-loaded may beassociated to a specific or particular vehicle and any further datagathered may indicate how much exhaust has been off-loaded from thatspecific or particular vehicle.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are simplified diagrams that illustrate novelimplementations of a fuel and exhaust station offering off-load ofcaptured exhaust from a vehicle and pick-up or transport to a deliveryvehicle, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Theon-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508 may be included on or in avehicle. The on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508 may includevarious components to capture exhaust from an internal combustion engineor any other type of engine which may produce exhaust. In anotherembodiment, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508 mayadditionally or solely capture gases, chemicals in and/or from theatmosphere. In such examples, the on-board vehicle exhaust capturedevice 508 may capture carbon dioxide. Other gases and/or chemicals maybe captured inadvertently. Further, in the example where the on-boardvehicle exhaust capture device 508 captures or sequesters greenhousegases from the atmosphere, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device508 may be added to or integrated into or onto any type of vehicle, suchas an electric vehicle, a fuel-cell based vehicle, a natural gas basedvehicle, and/or any other alternative fuel based vehicle, such vehiclesincluding motorist vehicles, locomotives, airplanes, marine vessels,equipment, and other types of vehicles. In such examples, the carbondioxide offset by the use of the alternative fuel based vehicle may befurther offset by the use of the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device508. Further, during the operational lifetime of an alternative fuelvehicle equipped with an on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508,the carbon intensity or amount of carbon generated by the production ofsuch alternative fuel based vehicle and/or by the production of the typeof fuel used by the alternative fuel based vehicle may be completelyoffset and/or even be a negative value.

Captured exhaust from the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508may be transferred to a pipe 506. The exhaust may be transferred fromthe on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508 to the pipe 506 via anexhaust nozzle, such as an exhaust nozzle of a multi-function nozzleassembly as described herein with respect to FIGS. 5B-5I, or by aseparate exhaust nozzle as described with reference to FIGS. 1 n anotherembodiment, the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508 may includea module to store the exhaust. The module may be swappable and/orremovable from the corresponding vehicle. To remove exhaust, a motorist,technician, mechanic, or other user may remove the module. The modulemay have a portion thereof that corresponds to a slot, notch, or portionof the exhaust pump. As the module is inserted into the slot, notch, orportion of the exhaust pump, a corresponding pipe or component mayinsert into the module. The exhaust may then be transferred, via thepipe or component, from the module to the pipe 506. In anotherembodiment, a full module may be exchanged with an empty module. Thefull module may be emptied at the scalable greenhouse gas capture system500.

As exhaust travels through the pipe 506, the exhaust may come intocontact with or travel through a meter 504. The meter 504 may measure ordetermine the amount of exhaust flowing through the pipe 506. The meter504 may send such a determination to a register 502. The register 502may determine the cost or value of such an amount of exhaust, such ascarbon dioxide therein. The register 502 may display the amount ofexhaust flowing through the pipe 506. The register 502 may display acontinuously updated real-time amount of exhaust being off-loaded. Theamount may be an increasing amount, indicating the cumulative amount ofexhaust. The amount may be a decreasing amount, indicating thedecreasing amount from the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508.The meter 504 may be a flow meter, mass flow meter, Coriolis meter, orother meter suitable for determining an amount of exhaust flowingthrough pipe 506. Such a meter 504 may be configured to withstand highand low pressures and/or high and low temperature, based on the phase orform of the exhaust (e.g., liquid or gas).

After exhaust flows through the meter 504, the exhaust may travel to orthrough an analyzer 509. In one or more embodiments, a portion or sampleof the exhaust may travel to or through the analyzer 509, rather thanthe entirety of the exhaust traveling to or through the analyzer 509.The analyzer 509 may perform a composition analysis of the exhaust. Theanalyzer 509 may determine the composition of the exhaust, e.g.,percentages of exhaust components. The analyzer 509 may be achromatographic analyzer or spectroscopic analyzer, e.g., an infraredanalyzer, residual analyzer, orsat analyzer, thermal analyzer, Ramananalyzer, and/or any type of analyzer to determine composition of afluid. The analyzer 509 may transfer a representation of the exhaustcomposition to the register 502 for display. The analyzer 509 may storeor transfer the composition data to a computing device as well, e.g.,for reporting purposes. Such a report may include one or more of: anamount or quantity of exhaust captured from a vehicle or from a set ofvehicles, an analysis of exhaust from a vehicle or from a set ofvehicles, and/or an analysis of the total stored exhaust. Such a reportmay be utilized in determining carbon credits. The report may also betransferred or sent to the local, state, and/or federal government,e.g., to provide information in relation to compliance with standardsand/or participation in carbon reduction programs or as a jurisdictionaltax requirement. The analyzer 509 may also prompt the system to safelyshut-down in the event of specification discrepancies, for example, fordownstream logistics and/or carbon dioxide markets where carbon dioxideis used as a feedstock.

Such stored data, analysis, and/or reports from the analyzer 509 may beassociated with a vehicle that the exhaust is off-loaded from. Thevehicle may be identified based on data received via the register 502 orother device from the vehicle or on-board vehicle exhaust capture device508. In such examples, a baseline may be generated for exhaustcomposition of a particular vehicle. As additional exhaust is analyzed,new compositional data may be compared with the baseline. Based ondifferences between the baseline and new compositional data.

With respect to the vehicle, the exhaust may be compressed, e.g., viathe on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508 or prior to transfer tothe pipe 506. However, as the exhaust travels through the pipe 506,pressure may decrease, due to, for example, the length of the pipe 506and/or friction of the interior of the pipe 506. The pressure of theexhaust may also decrease after flow through analyzer 509 and/or meter504 as described above. After analysis via the analyzer 509 and/ormeasurement via the meter 504 as disclosed above, the exhaust may flowto a compressor 510. Compressor 510 may be used to compress the exhaustsuch that a larger amount of exhaust may be stored. In another example,the exhaust or carbon dioxide may be converted into a liquid, eitherthrough compression and/or temperature changes or through a catalyst. Insuch examples, the compressor 510 may or may not be utilized. In anotherembodiment, the exhaust holding tank may be configured to withstand aparticular pressure and the pressure of the exhaust may be significantlyhigher than the particular pressure. In such embodiments, the pressuredrop above may be utilized to ensure that the exhaust is at the properpressure prior to reaching the exhaust holding tank. However, asmultiple vehicles output exhaust, the pressure drop may decrease orincrease past a specified point or threshold. In such examples, thepressure of the exhaust may be controlled via pressure control devicespositioned throughout the system. Pressure control devices may includethe compressor 510, pumps, control valves, control valves, and/or somecombination thereof.

After compression, via compressor 510, or conversion of the exhaust to aliquid (or solid), the exhaust may be transferred to an exhaust holdingtank. The exhaust may be transferred to a below-grade exhaust holdingtank 514 and/or an above-grade exhaust holding tank 512. Such a scalablegreenhouse gas capture system 500 may include one or more below-gradeexhaust holding tanks and/or one or more above-grade exhaust holdingtanks. The exhaust holding tanks may be configured to store a highlycompressed gas. The exhaust holding tanks may also be configured tostore a low temperature fluid or, in particular, a liquid.

In another embodiment, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 500may include a pump in addition to or rather than the compressor 510. Inanother embodiment, neither the pump or the compressor 510 may beincluded in the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 500. In anexample, where the exhaust or greenhouse gas is obtained from thevehicle in a liquid form, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 500may include a pump or other means to create suction or pressure to allowfor the liquid to flow through the scalable greenhouse gas capturesystem 500 to an exhaust holding tank. In another example, where theexhaust or greenhouse gas is obtained from the vehicle in a gaseousform, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 500 may include acompressor 510, a pump, and/or other means to create suction or pressureto allow for the gas to flow through the scalable greenhouse gas capturesystem 500 to an exhaust holding tank. In such examples, the scalablegreenhouse gas capture system 500 may include one or more pumps,compressors, other means to create suction or pressure, and/or somecombination thereof, at varying points throughout the scalablegreenhouse gas capture system 500.

As exhaust is transported to the exhaust holding tanks, e.g.,below-grade exhaust holding tank 514 and/or above-grade exhaust holdingtank 512, the exhaust holding tanks may fill up to or near a safelydefined working capacity. Each exhaust holding tank may include acapacity to store a certain amount of fluid. As the exhaust holding tankreaches working capacity, the exhaust holding tank may not be able toaccept more exhaust or fluid. A sensor, e.g., sensor 516 and/or sensor520, may be connected to, integrated in or on, or disposed inside theexhaust holding tank to determine or measure an amount of exhaust withinthe exhaust holding tank. The sensor, e.g., sensor 516 and/or sensor520, may determine the level of the exhaust within the exhaust holdingtank or the amount of capacity available in the exhaust holding tank. Inanother embodiment, the amount of capacity may be determined via acomputing device or the register, based on signals from the sensor,e.g., sensor 516 and/or sensor 520 or based on meter readings. Any ofthe components described herein may include a redundant or back-upcomponent to ensure continued operation during component failure. Forexample, if meter 518 fails, an identical or similar meter disposednearby meter 518 may be utilized. When the exhaust holding tank reachesworking capacity, the register 502, an exhaust pump, or computing devicemay prevent the further off-loading or transport of exhaust to theexhaust holding tank. In such an example, a user attempting to off-loadexhaust may be prevented from off-loading exhaust. Further, the register502 may notify or display a notification to the user of another locationoffering similar exhaust off-loading capabilities. Such a notificationmay include multiple nearby locations offering similar capabilities.Such nearby locations may additionally be indicated via roadside signsor other advertisements.

Each exhaust holding tank, e.g., below-grade exhaust holding tank 514and/or above-grade exhaust holding tank 512, may be connected to anexhaust delivery/pickup vehicle port 522. The exhaust delivery/pickupvehicle port 522 may allow for a delivery vehicle to accept or obtainthe exhaust from the exhaust holding tanks 512. In one or moreembodiments, the delivery vehicle, e.g., originating from a fuel source528, may provide fuel to a fuel tank, e.g., a below-grade fuel tank 526,prior to obtaining or on-boarding of exhaust through exhaustdelivery/pickup vehicle port 522. A meter 518 may be disposed betweenthe exhaust holding tank and exhaust delivery/pickup vehicle port 522.The meter 518 may measure the amount of exhaust flowing from the exhaustholding tank and/or may determine a total amount of exhaust that wasstored in the exhaust holding tank. The meter 518 may provide such datato a computing device, which may be included in the scalable greenhousegas capture system 500. The computing device may be external to thescalable greenhouse gas capture system 500, e.g., at a remote and/orseparate location. The computing device may take such data and store thedata with tags that associate the data with a user and location. Thetags may include data such as location, users associated with quantitiesof exhaust, time of each exhaust off-load, and/or time of each exhaustpickup. The computing device may further determine pick-up schedulesbased on the tags and data, e.g., if the exhaust holding tanks reachcapacity at close to the same amount of days at different timeintervals, then the computing device may update or alter pick-upschedules to maximize the amount of time to reach capacity, or in otherwords, to maximize the capacity utilization and reach optimizationwithin the downstream logistic network. The computing device maycalculate or determine and offer for sale an amount of carbon creditsbased on the amount of returned or off-loaded exhaust.

As noted, off-loaded exhaust may comprise a liquid. For example, theoff-loaded exhaust may be liquid carbon dioxide, which may or may notinclude portions of nitrogen and/or varying amounts of water. The amountof water in the liquid carbon dioxide may be based on the ambientenvironment temperature or, in other words, the temperature of theenvironment around the vehicle off-loading carbon dioxide. As such, andas illustrated in FIG. 8B, the system 501 may include, rather than or inaddition to including compressors (e.g., compressor 510), a pump 532.The pump 532 may be configured to generate flow of the liquid carbondioxide from the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device 508 to anexhaust holding tank (e.g., the below grade exhaust holding tank 514and/or the above grade exhaust holding tank 512). Further, a pump 534may be included to transport the liquid carbon dioxide from the exhaustholding tank (e.g., the below grade exhaust holding tank 514 and/or theabove grade exhaust holding tank 512) to a delivery/pickup vehicle.

In embodiments, due to the low temperatures and/or potentially highpressure of such a system, the exhaust holding tank (e.g., the belowgrade exhaust holding tank 514 and/or the above grade exhaust holdingtank 512) may be configured to withstand high pressures. A non-limitingexample may include a tank configured to withstand about 350 psig. Theexhaust holding tank (e.g., the below grade exhaust holding tank 514and/or the above grade exhaust holding tank 512) may be furtherconfigured to withstand and maintain low temperatures, such as viainsulation, refrigeration units, heat tracing, and/or other methods aswill be understood in the art.

In a non-limiting, illustrative example, a vehicle may store liquidcarbon dioxide at about 1450 psia, which may be considered asuper-critical liquid or fluid. The temperature of the liquid carbondioxide may vary based on the ambient temperature of the vehicle. As theliquid carbon dioxide is off-loaded, the pressure drop from the on-boardvehicle exhaust capture device 508 to the exhaust tank may cause thetemperature of the liquid carbon dioxide to fall further (e.g., about 10degrees Fahrenheit to about 12 degrees Fahrenheit per 100 psireduction). As such, temperatures of the liquid carbon dioxide may reachas low about 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

To prevent damage to devices within the system 501, the devices orequipment may be configured to withstand such low temperatures. Further,this temperature change may cause issues for the vehicle, since thepressure within the on-board vehicle exhaust capture device is loweredas exhaust is off-loaded. To prevent such an issue, the system 501 maybe configured to cause the pressure drop after a point where the exhaustenters the system 501. Pressure control devices (e.g., pressure controldevice 554A, pressure control device 554B, pressure control device 554C,and/or up to pressure control device 554N) may be included or positionedthroughout the system, such as pumps, control valves, spillback loops,and/or other devices and/or equipment configured to maintain or adjustpressure.

Due to potential temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, asdescribed above, any water included in the liquid carbon dioxide mayfreeze at any point within the system 501. Freezing of water may causeblocks or clogs within the system 501. As such the system 501 mayinclude a dryer 530. The dryer 530 may be positioned along the pipe 506.The dryer 530 may be positioned immediately or substantiallyimmediately, or in some examples further downstream, after a point whereliquid carbon dioxide enters the system 501 from the on-board vehicleexhaust capture device 508. The dryer 530 may include a desiccantconfigured to allow liquid to flow therethrough and absorb watertherein. All piping, equipment, devices, storage vessels or tanks, andthe like may be configured to include a material property and operatinglife to safely handle and transport carbon dioxide as well as residualwater and other constituents at varying pressures and/or temperatures.For example, the piping, equipment, devices, storage vessels or tanksmay be comprised of stainless steel or some other material, may becoated, may be insulated, and/or may include heat tracing.

FIG. 8C is a simplified diagram that illustrate a novel implementationof a fuel and exhaust station offering off-load and processing ofcaptured exhaust, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure. Similar to FIG. 6B, the system 503 of FIG. 6C may include adryer 538. The dryer 538 may remove any water from a liquid exhausttransported from a vehicle 536. The liquid may be transported to aknock-out drum 540. The knock-out drum 540 may separate any vapor thathas formed from the liquid to an intermediate tank 542, while the liquidis pumped, via pump 546, to the storage tank 548. The intermediate tank542 may store the vapor and transport the vapor to a refrigeration unit544. The intermediate tank 542 may include a metal organic framework.The metal organic framework may store the vapor thereby controlling theamount of vapor flowing through the refrigeration unit 544. The vapormay be circulated through the refrigeration unit 544, until the vapor iscondensed to a liquid. The liquid may also be transported, via pump 546,to the storage tank 548. The liquid carbon dioxide may be stored in thestorage tank 548 until ready for pickup. Upon pickup, the liquid carbondioxide may be pumped, via pump 550, to a delivery vehicle forsequestration or market (see 552).

FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B, and FIG. 9C are simplified diagrams that illustrate anovel implementation of a fuel and exhaust station offering off-load ofcaptured exhaust from a vehicle and pick-up or transport to a deliveryvehicle, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Similarto FIGS. 2A and 2C, a system may include one or more pumps, e.g., pump A602, pump B 603, pump C 604, and up to pump N 605. The pumps may includenozzles to provide fuel to vehicle fuel tanks 632 and nozzles to pumpexhaust from the vehicle exhaust tanks 634. The pumps may include ameter or meters to determine an amount of fuel being transported to thevehicle and a meter or meters to determine an amount of exhaust beingtransported from the vehicle e.g., meter A 606, meter B 607, meter C608, and up to meter N 609. Such a meter may transmit or send data to acomputing device and/or the pumps. The pumps may include a userinterface that displays the amount of fuel flowing to the vehicle andexhaust exiting the vehicle. The amount of exhaust being transported maybe determined in real-time to provide the user a compounded amount ofexhaust transported through the systems. The pumps may include a counterthat provides a decrementing exhaust total, e.g., beginning with a totalexhaust in a vehicle exhaust tank that counts down to zero. The totalmay, as exhaust is pumped from the vehicle exhaust tank, decrement. Inanother example, the counter may start at zero and incrementallyincrease as exhaust is pumped from the vehicle exhaust tank. The meteror meters may be co-located with, adjacent with, or included with or inthe pumps, see FIG. 9A. The meter or meters may be located separate fromthe pumps, e.g., such as meter A 646, meter B 645, and/or meter N 644.

Another meter 610 may be situated or disposed prior to the compressor612. Such a meter 610 may measure the total amount of exhaust flowing toan exhaust holding tank, e.g., below-grade exhaust holding tank 616,above-grade exhaust holding tank 620, and/or exhaust holding tank 638.The meter 610 may be redundant in case of failure of any of the othermeters disposed throughout the scalable greenhouse gas capture system600. In another example, the meter 610 may provide data to ensure thatthe exhaust holding tank(s) are not overfilled. The scalable greenhousegas capture system 601 may include multiple smaller compressors, e.g.,compressor A 642, compressor B 641, or compressor N 640, per each pump(e.g., a fuel and/or exhaust dispenser/pump), rather than onecompressor, e.g., compressor 612, for all pumps (e.g., a fuel and/orexhaust dispenser/pump).

After flowing through the meter 610, the exhaust may flow to acompressor 612 to be compressed or further compressed. Thereafter, thecompressed exhaust may flow to one or more exhaust holding tanks, e.g.,below-grade exhaust holding tank 616, above-grade exhaust holding tank620, and/or one or more of each. The exhaust may, when a pickupoperation occurs, flow through a meter 618. Further, as describedherein, each exhaust holding tank may include or be connected to asensor to provide data to determine whether each of the exhaust holdingtanks are near, approaching, or at working capacity. The sensor mayprovide data to be utilized to determine a total capacity or actualcapacity of each of the exhaust holding tanks. In another embodiment,the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 600 may include an analyzer,e.g., analyzer A 660, analyzer B 661, and/or analyzer N 662, per pump orone analyzer 609 for multiple pumps.

The exhaust holding tank may connect to one or more compressed exhaustdelivery/pick-up vehicle connections or ports 624, while the below gradefuel tank 626 may connect to one or more fuel delivery vehicleconnections or ports. A delivery vehicle may deliver fuel (see 624),from a fuel source 628, to the below grade fuel tank 626 via the fueldelivery vehicle connections or ports. Further, via exhaust pick-upvehicle connections or ports, a delivery or pick-up vehicle may obtainexhaust.

As noted, the exhaust off-loaded from a vehicle may be a liquid. In suchexamples, rather than a compressor, the system may include a pump 650 totransport or pump the exhaust from a vehicle to the below grade exhaustholding tank 616 and/or the above grade exhaust holding tank 620.Further, a pump 652 may be positioned to pump the liquid exhaust fromthe below grade exhaust holding tank 616 and/or the above grade exhaustholding tank 620 for delivery/pickup.

FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram that illustrates a novel implementationof a fuel and exhaust station offering separate areas for off-load ofcaptured exhaust from a vehicle and fueling of a vehicle, as well aspick-up or transport to a delivery vehicle, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure. The scalable greenhouse gas capturesystem 700 may include a set of fuel pumps 716 and a set of exhaustpumps 706 (e.g., similar to fuel and exhaust pump 200, 300, 400). In oneor more embodiments, the fuel pumps 716 may be separate from the exhaustpumps 706. In an example, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 700may include sets of, rows of, or islands of fuel pumps 716. At each set,row, or island of fuel pumps 716, one or more separate and distinctexhaust pumps 708 may be included. In another embodiment, the exhaustpumps 708 may be located separate from any fuel pumps 716. In at leastone embodiment, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 700 may notinclude fuel pumps 716. In such examples, the exhaust pumps 708 may beincluded at a variety of locations, such as, including, but not limitedto, a service station, an automotive repair center, a convenience store,a parking garage or lot, a seaport, a truck stop, a truck terminal, atruck depot, a bus depot, a truck weighing station, or any location withspace to include the components related to the exhaust pumps 708 andexhaust holding tank 712.

Each of the fuel pumps 716 may be connected to a below-grade fuel tank718 that has a meter 724 associated therewith. The meter 724 may bedisposed within delivery vehicle connections 702 of the below-grade fueltank 718 such that the amount or quantity of fuel is provided to thebelow-grade fuel tank 718 via the delivery vehicle connections 702(e.g., from a delivery vehicle) may be measured. Other components may beincluded in relation to the fuel pumps 716, as described throughout.Thus, users may re-fuel a vehicle fuel tank 714 via one of the fuelpumps 716.

In another embodiment, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 700may be designed or configured to mitigate issues caused by overcooling,as well as the use of a compressor. Further, a vehicle capture andstorage system may be configured to maintain a minimum allowable workingcapacity. In such embodiments, the scalable greenhouse gas capturesystem 700 may be configured to utilize the naturally occurringtemperature and pressure swings, or other phase changes, to facilitateremoval of the exhaust or carbon dioxide from the vehicle. For example,exhaust from a vehicle with a starting temperature of 100 or 60 degreesFahrenheit may exhibit a temperature drop as pressure decreases (see1702 and 1704 of FIGS. 20A and 20B respectively), where the exhaust iscomprised of carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, or carbondioxide and nitrogen with water). Even as temperature decreases, theexhaust may begin to change phases or exhibit two phases (e.g., liquidand gas) (see 1706 and 1708 of FIGS. 20C and 20D respectively). As such,the scalable greenhouse gas capture system 700 may include equipment ordevices to capture any gas that may be formed and condense the gas backto a liquid.

Each of the exhaust pumps 708 may include a user interface to allow forinteraction between one of the exhaust pumps 708 and the user. Each ofthe exhaust pumps 708 may be connected to a meter 720 or meters. Themeter 720 or meters may measure the amount of exhaust that flows, ispumped, or is obtained in another way from a vehicle exhaust tank 704.The exhaust pumps 708 may further be connected to a sensor 710 that isassociated with the exhaust holding tank 712 to measure its capacity.The sensor 710 may provide data to be utilized by the exhaust pumps 708to determine whether to allow or prevent further pumping of exhaustbased on a full, near full or less than full capacity of the exhaustholding tank 712. Further, the exhaust pumps 708 may obtain data from avehicle sensor 706 to determine if an amount of exhaust stored in theexhaust tank 704 is less than or greater than an amount of the availablecapacity of the exhaust holding tank 712.

The scalable greenhouse gas capture system 700 may include an analyzer722 that is connected to and in fluid communication with the exhaust inthe exhaust holding tank 712. The analyzer 722 may receive a sample ofthe exhaust via connections to the pipe or pipelines leading to theexhaust holding tank 712. The analyzer 722 may measure the compositionof samples of the exhaust that are provided to it. Composition data fromanalyzer 722 may be transmitted to the exhaust pumps 708 and/or to acomputing device for inclusion in an environmental report, governmentalreport, or other report as described herein.

The exhaust holding tank 712 is designed with a capacity to store anamount of exhaust that would equal or exceed the amount of exhaust thatwould be off-loaded by vehicles within a specified time, e.g., one day,two days, three days, or more. When the exhaust holding tank 712 becomesfull or near full, or at regular or periodic intervals, a transportationvehicle, e.g., such as a delivery vehicle, or other logistics meansconfigured to off-load the exhaust, such as pipe or pipeline, rail, ormarine vessel, may be used to retrieve the exhaust from the exhaustholding tank 712 and transport the exhaust away from the scalablegreenhouse gas capture system 702 to its final disposition. The exhaustmay be transported to a number of locations for its final disposition,which may include re-use, recycling, and/or permanent storage. Suchlocations may include a refinery, an underground cavern or otherlocation configured to store exhaust or carbon dioxide long-term,exhaust or carbon dioxide recycle centers, and/or other locations whichmay utilize exhaust or carbon dioxide.

FIG. 11 is a simplified diagram that illustrates a novel implementationof an exhaust off-loading station 800 or location including collectionand determinations relating to captured exhaust, off-loaded exhaust, andtransported exhaust, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure. The exhaust off-loading station 800 or location may includevarious components. For example, an exhaust pump may include a userinterface, a nozzle, and piping connecting the exhaust pump, e.g.,exhaust pump 1 810, exhaust pump 2 811, and/or up to exhaust pump N 812,to an exhaust tank, e.g., exhaust tank 1 818, exhaust tank 2 819, and/orup to exhaust pump M 820. The exhaust pump may also include or beconnected to a computing device or controller, e.g., computing device 1814, computing device 2 815, and/or up to computing device N 816. Thecomputing device or devices may include memory to store instructions.The instructions may be executed by a processor of the computing deviceor devices. The computing device may include instructions to determinewhether the exhaust pumps may continue to pump exhaust from differentvehicles, e.g., vehicle 1 806, vehicle 2 807, and/or up to vehicle N804. Such a determination may be based on data provided by the sensorsassociated with each exhaust tank, e.g., sensor 1 822, sensor 2 823,and/or up to sensor M 824 and input/outputs associated with eachvehicle, e.g., input/output 1 802, input/output 2 803, and/or up toinput/output N 804. The sensors may provide data for utilization by thecomputing device to determine the current capacity of the exhaust tank.In another embodiment, meters disposed throughout the exhaustoff-loading station 800 may be utilized to determine current capacity ofeach exhaust tank, e.g., such a determination being based on thesummation of values provided by each meter minus the available workingcapacity. Further, the computing device may determine the composition ofthe exhaust, via an analyzer, e.g., analyzer 1 840, analyzer 2 841,and/or up to analyzer N 842. The analyzer may take one or more samplesof the exhaust and analyze the samples, determining the gases orchemicals included in the exhaust. In one or more embodiments, theanalyzer may determine and provide data regarding the relativepercentages of the various gases and/or chemicals within the exhaustsamples. The computing device may display such data as described above,to the user via a user interface associated with the exhaust pump. Thecomputing device may further create a report including such data. Suchdata or reports, along with other data and analysis gathered by theexhaust off-loading station 800 or location, may be transmitted to aninternal or external computing device 826 and/or database for furtheranalysis.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram, implemented in a computing device, foroff-loading exhaust and fueling a vehicle sequentially, according to oneor more embodiments of the disclosure. While method 900 is detailed withreference to the fuel and exhaust pump 200 of FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, othercomponents of FIGS. 4A through 11 may be utilized in such a method.Unless otherwise specified, the actions of method 900 may be completedwithin the fuel and exhaust pump 200. Specifically, method 900 may beincluded in one or more programs, protocols, or instructions loaded intomemory of a computing device of the fuel and exhaust pump 200 or memoryof the fuel and exhaust pump 200. The order in which the operations aredescribed is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and anynumber of the described blocks may be combined in any order and/or inparallel to implement the disclosed methods.

At block 902, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may, in response to apayment input by a customer or user, prompt the customer or user toselect a fuel type. The customer or user may depress one of the seriesof buttons 202 or use a voice command to select a type of fuel. Asdescribed herein, a user interface 224 may include pop-ups or selectableoptions, as well as voice recognition. Such a prompt may include averbal or non-verbal message displayed on the user interface for thecustomer or user to select a fuel type, such as “Select a fuel type toproceed”.

At block 904, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may, in response to aselection of a fuel type and completion of payment, prompt the customeror user to insert the fuel nozzle 232 into the vehicle. Such a promptmay include a message displayed on the user interface 224 for thecustomer or user to insert the fuel nozzle 232 into the vehicle, such as“Insert fuel nozzle to proceed”.

At block 906, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may determine whether thefuel nozzle 232 has been inserted into a fuel port of the vehicle,motorist vehicle, or fuel containing component. In such examples, such adetermination may be made based on customer or user input, feedback orsignals from a sensor or sensor disposed in or connected to the fuelnozzle 232, and/or some combination thereof. In other examples, the fueland exhaust pump 200 may display that fuel is ready to be pumped afterpayment is received. The fuel and exhaust pump 200 may wait until thefuel nozzle 232 is inserted or until the customer or user cancels thetransaction.

At block 908, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may pump the selected fuelto the customer vehicle. The fuel and exhaust pump 200 may pump the fuelfrom a below-grade fuel tank 230. The fuel and exhaust pump 200 maydisplay a running total of fuel pumped from the below-grade fuel tank230 on user interface 224, which may further display a running monetaryvalue or cost of the fuel pumped from the below-grade fuel tank 230.

At block 910, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may prompt a customer oruser to select whether to off-load vehicle exhaust. Such a prompt may betransmitted before, during, or after fueling of the vehicle. The messagemay be displayed on the user interface 224 and may include a messagesuch as, “Off-load vehicle exhaust?”. The customer or user may depressor push a button 206, or use a voice command, specifically for selectingsuch an option or select a prompt or button displayed on the userinterface 224.

At block 912, if the customer or user selects the option to off-loadexhaust, then the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may prompt the user toengage the exhaust nozzle 240 with the vehicle. Such a message mayinclude, “Engage exhaust nozzle with vehicle to proceed”. At block 914,the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may determine whether the exhaust nozzle240 is engaged with the vehicle. Sensors may be included in or connectedto the exhaust nozzle. The fuel and exhaust pump 200 may determine,based on signals from the sensor, whether the exhaust nozzle 240 isinserted into an exhaust port, whether the exhaust nozzle 240 issealingly engaged with the exhaust port, and/or whether the exhaustnozzle 240 is locked or latched onto the exhaust port.

At block 916, once the exhaust nozzle 240 is verified to be engaged orlocked with the vehicle, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may begin pumpingexhaust from the vehicle. At block 918, a compressor may compress theexhaust further. At block 920, the exhaust may flow into the exhaustholding tank 238. At block 922, after fuel has been pumped and/or afterexhaust has been off-loaded, the fuel and exhaust pump 200 may offer adigital or print receipt and data to the customer or user.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram, implemented in a computing device, foroff-loading exhaust and fueling a vehicle sequentially, according to oneor more embodiments of the disclosure. While method 1000 is detailedwith reference to the fuel and exhaust pump 400 of FIG. 5A through FIG.5C, other components of FIGS. 6 through 11 may be utilized in such amethod. Unless otherwise specified, the actions of method 1000 may becompleted within the fuel and exhaust pump 400. Specifically, method1000 may be included in one or more programs, protocols, or instructionsloaded into memory of a computing device of the fuel and exhaust pump400 or memory of the fuel and exhaust pump 400. The order in which theoperations are described is not intended to be construed as alimitation, and any number of the described blocks may be combined inany order and/or in parallel to implement the disclosed methods.

At block 1002, in response to a payment input by a customer or user, thefuel and exhaust pump 400 may prompt the customer or user to select afuel type. One option may include not selecting any fuel. Once thecustomer or user selects a fuel type (or the no fuel option) the fueland exhaust pump 400 may prompt a customer or user to select whether tooff-load exhaust. Once a customer or user has selected whether tooff-load exhaust, the fuel and exhaust pump 400 may, at block 1006,prompt the customer or user to engage the combined fuel and exhaustnozzle 414 with the vehicle. The fuel and exhaust pump 400, at block1008 may determine whether the combined fuel and exhaust nozzle 414 hasbeen engaged with the vehicle, e.g., sealingly engaged such that nooff-loaded exhaust escapes to atmosphere and the fuel and exhaust flowsdo not mix. The fuel and exhaust pump 400, at block 1010, may determinewhether exhaust off-load has been selected. If exhaust off-load has beenselected, then either simultaneously, substantially simultaneously, orin sequence, the fuel and exhaust pump 400 may, at block 1012, pump theselected fuel to the vehicle and at block 1014, allow exhaust from thevehicle to flow to a compressor. The compressor, at block 1016, maycompress the exhaust and, at block 1018, the compressed exhaust may flowinto the exhaust holding tank 410. At block 1020, after the exhaust andfuel have been delivered from and to, respectively, the vehicle, thecustomer or user may be offered a receipt. If the customer or user onlychooses a fuel, then, at block 1012, the fuel may be pumped to thevehicle. If the customer or user only chooses to off-load exhaust, thenonly exhaust may be off-loaded.

FIG. 14 is another flow diagram for off-loading exhaust and fueling avehicle sequentially, according to one or more embodiments of thedisclosure. The order in which the operations of method 1100 aredescribed is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and anynumber of the described blocks may be combined in any order and/or inparallel to implement the disclosed methods.

At block 1102, a customer or user may arrive at a pump. At block 1104,the customer or user may pay for fuel or input payment prior toselection of a fuel. After submitting payment, at block 1106, thecustomer or user may select a fuel type. After a fuel type is selected,the customer or user, at block 1108, may insert a fuel nozzle into avehicle. After the fuel nozzle is inserted into the vehicle, a fuelpump, at block 1110, may begin pumping fuel through the fuel nozzle intothe vehicle.

While the fuel is being pumped, prior to pumping fuel, or after fuel hasbeen pumped, at block 1112, it may be determined whether the vehicleincludes an onboard vehicle exhaust capture device (e.g., by promptingthe user for such confirmation). If the vehicle includes an onboardvehicle exhaust capture device, the customer or user may choose whetherto off-load exhaust at block 1114. If the customer or user chooses tooff-load exhaust, the customer or user may input payment for such anoperation at block 1116. Such payment may occur when the customer paysfor fuel or afterwards. After the customer or user has transactedpayment, the customer or user may, at block 1118 engage the exhaustnozzle with the exhaust port associated with the vehicle. Once theexhaust nozzle is engaged with the exhaust port, at block 1120, theexhaust may be transferred from the vehicle's on-board vehicle exhaustcapture device to a compressor. The compressor, at block 1122, mayfurther compress exhaust from the vehicle. At block 1124, the compressedexhaust may be transferred to an exhaust holding tank. After transfer ofexhaust and/or fuel, at block 1126, the customer or user may be offereda receipt.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram for off-loading and processing liquid exhaust,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. The order inwhich the operations of method 1200 are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks may becombined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the disclosedmethods.

At block 1202, a controller or computing device may determine whether auser has elected to off-load exhaust from a vehicle. The exhaust may bea liquid exhaust. The liquid exhaust may be comprised of liquid carbondioxide. The liquid exhaust may include other chemicals as well, such asnitrogen and/or water, among other chemicals.

At block 1204, the controller or computing device may prompt a user toengage an exhaust nozzle with the vehicle. At block 1206, prior tocommencing off-load of exhaust, the controller or computing device maywait until confirmation (e.g., via a signal from the exhaust nozzle,signal from the user, and/or other signals) that the exhaust nozzle isengaged with the vehicle.

At block 1208, if the exhaust nozzle is engaged with the vehicle, thenthe exhaust may be pumped, via a pump, from the vehicle to a dryer. Atblock 1210, the dryer may dry the exhaust. The liquid exhaust, as noted,may include an amount of water. As pressure drops occur at pointsbetween the exhaust nozzle and the exhaust storage tank, temperature ofthe exhaust may drop. Depending on the temperature drop, water maypotentially freeze, causing blocks or clogs. As such, the dryer mayremove any water included in the exhaust, thus preventing such blocks orclogs.

At block 1212, the dried exhaust may be pumped to a knock-out drum. Asthe exhaust passes through the system, vapors may form based ontemperature and/or pressure changes. At block 1214, the vapor may beseparated from the liquid exhaust in the knock-out drum and transportedto an intermediate storage tank. The intermediate storage tank mayinclude or may be connected to a refrigeration unit. At block 1218, thevapor may be condensed in the refrigeration unit. The condensation(e.g., a second liquid), at block 1220, may be pumped to exhauststorage. Further, at block 1216, the liquid from the knock-out drum maybe pumped to the exhaust storage.

As noted, a scalable greenhouse capture system may be utilized for avariety of vehicles, for example, a marine vessel 1302. FIG. 16A andFIG. 16B are schematic diagrams that illustrate scalable greenhouse gascapture systems 1300 for off-loading captured exhaust, greenhouse gases,or carbon dioxide from a marine vessel 1302, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure. The marine vessel 1302 may include anexhaust or carbon capture device. The exhaust or carbon capture devicemay capture carbon dioxide and/or other chemicals/greenhouse gasesproduced by the engine of the marine vessel 1302 and/or from the air.The captured exhaust or carbon dioxide may be stored, as a liquid or agas, in a storage section 1306 or tank of the marine vessel 1302. Themarine vessel 1302 may re-fuel at a seaport, at an on-shore dock, or anoff-shore platform/dock as illustrated in FIG. 16A, or off-shorebunkering via a smaller marine vessel 1314 or tug boat with a fuelingand/or exhaust/greenhouse gas vessel 1312. The seaport or dock mayinclude several armatures 1304, 1305. Each of the armatures 1304, 1305may include a distal end and proximal end. A swivel joint may connectthe proximal end to of the armatures 1304, 1305 to a pipeline. Thepipeline may connect to a pump. Another pipeline may connect the pump toa meter and/or sampler/analyzer. The meter and/or analyzer may connectdirectly to an exhaust or greenhouse gas holding tank 1310, to anadditional compressor or pump, or to a manifold 1311. The manifold 1311may include several connections or pipelines to different tanks,spheres, or other components. The distal end of the armatures 1304, 1305may connect to a corresponding port on the marine vessel 1302. Uponconnection of the distal end to the port of the marine vessel 1302, theexhaust or greenhouse gas may be pumped from a tank of the marine vessel1302. A pump connected to the armature 1304 may pump the exhaust orgreenhouse through the armature 1304. The exhaust may flow through theswivel joint to the meter and/or sampler/analyzer. The exhaust mayfurther flow through to the additional compressor or pump, for furthercompression the exhaust or greenhouse gas. The exhaust or greenhouse gasmay further flow to the holding tank. The armatures may includeadditional pumps to allow for pumping of the exhaust to the marinevessel 1302 for shipment. The marine vessel 1302 may be a blue watervessel, e.g., a deep sea vessel, or a brown water vessel, e.g., aninland or coastal waterway vessel, such as a tow or barge. In anotherembodiment, the seaport or dock may include fuel armatures 1305connected to a fuel storage tank 1308 for providing fuel to the marinevessel 1302.

As illustrated in FIG. 16B, the marine vessel 1302 may re-fuel oroff-load stored exhaust or greenhouse gases off-shore. A smaller marinevessel or tug boat may haul or transport a floating fuel and exhaust orgreenhouse gas storage vessel 1312. Such a vessel 1312 may beconstructed similar to the fuel tank and/or exhaust or greenhouse gasstorage tank of the marine vessel. The vessel may dock at the seaport ordock to off-load exhaust, for example, at the seaport as illustrated inFIG. 16A.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram that illustrates scalable greenhouse gascapture systems 1400 for off-loading captured greenhouse gas from alocomotive and/or rail cars 1402 to a greenhouse gas holding tank andtransporting the greenhouse gas from the greenhouse gas holding tank toa delivery vehicle, pipeline, or other form of transportation forre-use, recycle, or permanent storage, according to one or moreembodiments of the disclosure. The locomotive and/or rail cars 1402 mayinclude an exhaust or carbon capture device to capture exhaust, carbondioxide, carbon dioxide from the air, and/or some other gases/chemicals.The exhaust or carbon dioxide may be produced via an internal combustionengine of the locomotive and/or rail cars 1402. The locomotive and/orrail cars 1402 may re-fuel at a rail fueling station, as illustrated inFIG. 17 . The rail fueling station may include several armatures 1404,1406. The armatures 1404, 1406 may include a distal end and proximalend. A swivel joint may connect the proximal end to a pipeline. Thepipeline may connect to a pump. Another pipeline may connect the pump toa meter and/or sampler/analyzer. The meter and/or analyzer may connectdirectly to an exhaust or greenhouse gas holding tank or to anadditional compressor or pump. The distal end may connect to acorresponding port on the locomotive and/or rail cars 1402. Uponconnection of the distal end to the port of the locomotive 1402, theexhaust or greenhouse gas may flow from a tank of the locomotive and/orrail cars 1402. A pump connected to the armature 1404, 1406 may pump theexhaust or greenhouse through the armature 1404, 1406. The exhaust mayflow through the swivel joint to the meter and/or sampler/analyzer. Theexhaust may further flow through the additional compressor or pump, tofurther compress the exhaust or greenhouse gas. The exhaust orgreenhouse gas may further flow to the holding tank.

In another embodiment, the locomotive 1402 may include a storage sectionor storage cart, connected to the locomotive 1402. The storage sectionor storage cart may store exhaust, greenhouse gases, or carbon dioxidecaptured by the exhaust or carbon capture device of the locomotive 1402.In another embodiment, the storage section or storage cart may storeexhaust, greenhouse gases, or carbon dioxide for transport for furtheruse. In such embodiments, the armatures 1404, 1406 may additionally beconfigured to pump exhaust, greenhouse gases, or carbon dioxide to thestorage section or storage cart.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram that illustrates scalable greenhouse gascapture systems 1500 for off-loading captured greenhouse gas from anairplane 1502 to a greenhouse gas holding tank and transporting thegreenhouse gas from the greenhouse gas holding tank, e.g., such as by adelivery vehicle, or other logistics means, such as pipe or pipeline,rail, or marine vessel, for re-use, recycle, or permanent storage,according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. In suchembodiments, an airplane 1502 may include a greenhouse gas capturedevice. The greenhouse gas capture device may capture greenhouse gasesfrom the air as the airplane 1502 travels between destinations. Theairport may include above-grade or below-grade fuel tanks. The airportmay include above-grade or below-grade greenhouse gas tanks. The airportmay include ports allowing for a pump or dispenser to connect to thebelow-grade fuel tanks and below-grade and/or above-grade greenhouse gastanks. Dispensing trucks 1504 may travel to an airplane 1502 to re-fuelthe airplane 1502. The dispensing trucks 1504 may additionally beconfigured to pump or otherwise facilitate flow of greenhouse gasescaptured by the airplane 1502. A truck separate from the dispensingtruck 1504 may be utilized to offload the captured greenhouse gases. Asthe dispensing truck 1504 or separate truck is connected to the airplane1502, the dispensing truck 1504 or separate truck may pump or otherwisefacilitate the flow of the greenhouse gases from the airplane 1502 tothe below-grade or above-grade greenhouse gas tanks. Stated another way,the greenhouse gases captured by the airplane may be off-loaded from theholding vessel within airplane 1502.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram for off-loading exhaust and/or fueling avehicle, according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. Thescalable greenhouse gas capture systems of FIG. 2A through FIG. 11 andFIG. 16A through 18 may be utilized in method 1600. Unless otherwisespecified, the actions of method 1600 may be completed within acomputing device or controller for any of the systems described herein.Specifically, method 1600 may be included in one or more programs,protocols, or instructions loaded into memory of the computing device orcontroller. The order in which the operations are described is notintended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of thedescribed blocks may be combined in any order and/or in parallel toimplement the disclosed methods.

At block 1602, a greenhouse gas arm or armature may be connected to acorresponding port on a vehicle. The greenhouse gas arm or armature maybe configured to pump or otherwise facilitate the flow of greenhousegas, in various forms, to and/or from a vehicle. Vehicles may includelarge trucks, marine vessels, locomotives, rail cars, airplanes, buses,and/or other vehicles. The greenhouse gas arm or armature may beconfigured to create a seal and/or lock into place when inserted intothe corresponding port on the vehicle in order to preclude the escape ofcaptured greenhouse gases to atmosphere.

The scalable greenhouse gas capture system may include a fuel arm orarmature. In other embodiments, the scalable greenhouse gas capturesystem may not include an option to fuel a vehicle, but rather an optionto remove or discharge captured exhaust or greenhouse gases. If present,at block 1604, the fuel arm or armature may connect to a correspondingport on the vehicle.

At block 1606, the scalable greenhouse gas capture system may pump fuelto and/or facilitate the flow of greenhouse gases from the vehiclethrough the corresponding arms or armatures. Fuel may be pumped priorto, during, or after the removal or discharging of the greenhouse gases.

At block 1608 the greenhouse gases may be transported through thearmature to a meter and/or sampler or analyzer. The meter may determinethe amount of greenhouse gases being off-loaded. The sampler or analyzermay analyze or determine the content of the greenhouse gases, e.g., theidentification of the greenhouse gas, a relative percentage of thegreenhouse gases contained therein, the identification/relativepercentages of various chemicals therein, etc. The gases and/orchemicals contained therein may include carbon dioxide or primarilycarbon dioxide. Other gases/chemicals may be included, but the othergases/chemicals may be based on the type of vehicle and the type ofgreenhouse gas capture device of the vehicle, e.g., a vehicle utilizingbunker fuel may produce trace amounts of different chemicals, e.g.,sulfur-containing compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds, etc., asopposed to a vehicle burning jet fuel.

The greenhouse gas may be compressed via a compressor or multi-stagecompressor. At block 1610, the greenhouse gas, whether compressed or notcompressed and in a solid, liquid, or gaseous form, may be transportedor pumped to a greenhouse gas holding tank.

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.17/652,530, filed Feb. 25, 2022, titled “SCALABLE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURESYSTEMS AND METHODS,” which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/200,581, filed Mar. 16, 2021, titled“SCALABLE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURE SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” and U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/267,567, filed Feb. 4, 2022, titled“SCALABLE GREENHOUSE GAS CAPTURE SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In the drawings and specification, several embodiments of systems andmethods to provide scalable greenhouse gas capture have been disclosed,and although specific terms are employed, the terms are used in adescriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Embodimentsof systems and methods have been described in considerable detail withspecific reference to the illustrated embodiments. However, it will beapparent that various modifications and changes may be made within thespirit and scope of the embodiments of systems and methods as describedin the foregoing specification, and such modifications and changes areto be considered equivalents and part of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scalable carbon capture system to allow foroff-load of captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) from an on-board vehicle CO₂capture device and to allow for a delivery vehicle to obtain andtransport the CO₂, the system comprising: one or more CO₂ armatures,each of the one or more CO₂ armatures including: a CO₂ nozzle sealinglyengageable with a vehicle CO₂ port and, upon engagement with the vehicleCO₂ port, configurable to create an air-tight seal between the CO₂nozzle and the vehicle CO₂ port, thereby to prevent CO₂ from leakingduring off-load of captured CO₂ from an on-board vehicle CO₂ capturedevice through the vehicle CO₂ port and into the CO₂ nozzle, and a pipehaving one end portion connected to the CO₂ nozzle and another endportion and configured to transport captured CO₂ therethrough from theCO₂ nozzle to the another end portion; a CO₂ holding tank in fluidcommunication with the another end portion and having a capacity tostore the captured CO₂ from the pipe; a meter positioned in a fluidpathway defined at least in part by the pipe and the CO₂ holding tankand configured to measure an amount of the CO₂ transported from theon-board vehicle CO₂ capture device to the CO₂ holding tank; and adelivery vehicle port in fluid communication with the CO₂ holding tank,thereby to allow the delivery vehicle to obtain CO₂ from the CO₂ holdingtank.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle includes one of alocomotive, airplane, bus, truck, marine vessel, or heavy vehicle. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more CO₂ armatures isconfigured to withstand a low temperature.
 4. The system of claim 1,further comprising a pump to facilitate transport of the captured CO₂from the CO₂ nozzle.
 5. The system of claim 1, further comprising adryer positioned along the pipe and configured to remove water from theCO₂ prior to transport to the CO₂ holding tank.
 6. The system of claim1, further comprising a computing device in signal communication withthe meter and configured to receive, via the meter, and store a valuecorresponding to the amount of CO₂ transported from the on-board vehicleCO₂ capture device.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the computingdevice is in signal communication with a sensor associated with the CO₂holding tank and configured to receive, via the sensor, a signalindicative of an amount of CO₂ stored in the CO₂ holding tank.
 8. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the computing device includes an input/outputpositioned at each end of the one or more CO₂ armatures and configuredto connect to a corresponding input/output of the vehicle uponengagement of one of the one or more CO₂ armatures with the vehicle CO₂port.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the computing device furtherdetermines, via data transmitted from the corresponding input/output ofthe vehicle to the input/output, an amount of CO₂ included in theon-board vehicle CO₂ capture device prior to transport of the CO₂ fromthe on-board vehicle CO₂ capture device.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the computing device further determines whether to preventfurther transport of CO₂ to the CO₂ holding tank based on the measuredamount of CO₂ stored in the CO₂ holding tank, the amount of CO₂ includedin the on-board vehicle CO₂ capture device, and a total storage amountof the CO₂ holding tank.
 11. A scalable carbon capture system to allowfor off-load of captured CO₂ from an on-board marine vessel CO₂ capturedevice, the system comprising: one or more CO₂ armatures positioned at aport, each of the one or more CO₂ armatures including: a CO₂ nozzlesealingly engageable with a marine vessel CO₂ port and, upon engagementwith the marine vessel CO₂ port, configurable to create an air-tightseal between the CO₂ nozzle and the marine vessel CO₂ port, thereby toprevent CO₂ from leaking during off-load of captured CO₂ from anon-board marine vessel CO₂ capture device through the marine vessel CO₂port and into the CO₂ nozzle, and a pipe having one end portionconnected to the CO₂ nozzle and another end portion and configured totransport captured CO₂ therethrough from the CO₂ nozzle to the anotherend portion; a CO₂ holding tank in fluid communication with the anotherend portion and having a capacity to store the captured CO₂ from thepipe; a meter positioned in a fluid pathway defined at least in part bythe pipe and the CO₂ holding tank and configured to measure an amount ofthe CO₂ transported from the on-board marine vessel CO₂ capture deviceto the CO₂ holding tank; and a delivery port in fluid communication withto the CO₂ holding tank and configured to allow delivery of CO₂ from theCO₂ holding tank.
 12. The system of claim 11, further comprising apipeline connected to the delivery port and configured to transport theCO₂ for further use.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the portcomprises one or more of a seaport, an on-shore dock, an off-shoreplatform, an off-shore dock, or an off-shore bunker.
 14. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the marine vessel comprises a blue water vessel or abrown water vessel.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the blue watervessel comprises a deep sea vessel, and wherein the brown water vesselcomprises an inland waterway vessel or a coastal waterway vessel. 16.The system of claim 11, wherein one or more additional CO₂ armatures andan intermediate CO₂ holding tank are positioned on a smaller marinevessel, and wherein the smaller marine vessel is configured to travel aselected distance from the port and capture CO₂ from the marine vesselwhile the marine vessel remains at sea.
 17. The system of claim 16,wherein the small marine vessel includes a fuel armature and fuel tank,and wherein the fuel armature is configured to provide fuel from thefuel tank to the marine vessel while the marine vessel remains at sea.18. The system of claim 16, wherein the CO₂ comprises a liquid CO₂. 19.The system of claim 18, wherein the CO₂ holding tank and theintermediate CO₂ holding tank are configured to maintain a temperatureat which the CO₂ remains a liquid.
 20. The system of claim 19, whereinthe CO₂ holding tank and the intermediate CO₂ holding tank include oneor more of insulation or a refrigeration unit to maintain thetemperature at which the CO₂ remains liquid.
 21. A scalable carboncapture system to allow for off-load of captured CO₂ from an on-boardlocomotive CO₂ capture device, the system comprising: one or more CO₂armatures positioned at a rail station, each of the one or more CO₂armatures including: a CO₂ nozzle sealingly engageable with one or moreof a locomotive CO₂ port or a rail car CO₂ port and, upon engagementwith one of the one or more of the locomotive CO₂ port or the rail carCO₂ port, configurable to create an air-tight seal between the CO₂nozzle and the one of the one or more of the locomotive CO₂ port or therail car CO₂ port, thereby to prevent CO₂ from leaking during off-loadof captured CO₂ from an on-board vehicle CO₂ capture device through theone of the one or more of the locomotive CO₂ port or the rail car CO₂port and into the CO₂ nozzle, and a pipe having one end portionconnected to the CO₂ nozzle and another end portion and configured totransport captured CO₂ therethrough from the CO₂ nozzle to the anotherend portion; a CO₂ holding tank in fluid communication with the anotherend portion, the CO₂ holding tank having a capacity to store thecaptured CO₂ from the pipe; a meter positioned in a fluid pathwaydefined at least in part by the pipe and the CO₂ holding tank andconfigured to measure an amount of the CO₂ transported from the on-boardlocomotive CO₂ capture device to the CO₂ holding tank; and a deliveryport in fluid communication with the CO₂ holding tank, thereby to allowdelivery from the CO₂ holding tank.
 22. The system of claim 21, whereinthe CO₂ holding tank is configured to withstand one or more of highpressure or low temperature.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein, whenthe one or more CO₂ armatures are connected to a locomotive CO₂ port anda rail car CO₂ port, each connected CO₂ armatures substantiallysimultaneously transport CO₂ from a locomotive and rail car.
 24. Thesystem of claim 23, wherein, during a CO₂ offload operation, thelocomotive receives fuel.
 25. A scalable greenhouse gas capture systemto allow off-loading CO₂ captured in an on-board vehicle CO₂ capturedevice, the system comprising: one or more fuel armatures, each of theone or more fuel armatures including: a fuel nozzle insertable into avehicle fuel port; a first pipe having one end portion connected to thefuel nozzle and another end portion connected to below grade fuel tanks,thereby to provide fluid communication therebetween, the first pipeconfigured to transport a fuel type to the vehicle via the fuel nozzle;a first meter positioned between the fuel nozzle and the below gradefuel tanks and configured to measure an amount of fuel transported fromone of the below grade fuel tanks to the vehicle; one or more CO₂armatures, each of the one or more CO₂ armatures including: a CO₂ nozzlesealingly engageable with a vehicle CO₂ port and, upon engagement withthe vehicle CO₂ port, configurable to create an air-tight seal betweenthe CO₂ nozzle and the vehicle CO₂ port to prevent CO₂ from leakingduring off-load of captured CO₂ from the on-board vehicle CO₂ capturedevice through the vehicle CO₂ port and into the CO₂ nozzle; and asecond pipe having one end portion connected to the CO₂ nozzle andanother end portion and configured to transport captured CO₂therethrough from the CO₂ nozzle to the another end portion; a pump influid communication with the another end portion of the second pipe andconfigured to facilitate flow of the captured CO₂ from the on-boardvehicle CO₂ capture device; a CO₂ holding tank in fluid communicationwith the pump and having a capacity to store the captured CO₂ from thepump; and a second meter positioned in a fluid pathway defined at leastin part by the second pipe and the pump that allows CO₂ to flow betweenthe CO₂ nozzle and CO₂ holding tank and configured to measure an amountof the CO₂ transported from the on-board vehicle CO₂ capture device tothe CO₂ holding tank.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein a fuelingoperation and a CO₂ offload operation for a vehicle occurs substantiallysimultaneously.
 27. The system of claim 25, wherein a fueling operationand a CO₂ offload operation for a vehicle occurs sequentially.
 28. Thesystem of claim 25, wherein the one or more fuel armatures, the one ormore CO₂ armatures, the pump, the CO₂ holding tank, and the second meterare positioned at a terminal, rail station, or port.
 29. The system ofclaim 25, further comprising a controller configured to prevent furtherCO₂ offloading operations, in response to a level in the CO₂ holdingtank exceeding a selected threshold and based on an amount of CO₂offloaded as indicated via signals from the second meter and a currentamount of CO₂ in the CO₂ holding tank.
 30. The system of claim 25,further comprising a compressor positioned proximate to and upstream ofthe CO₂ holding tank and configured to compress the CO₂ prior to storagein the CO₂ holding tank.